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Strategic Alliances,
Mergers and
Acquisitions
The Influence of Culture on Successful
Cooperation

Edited by
Jan Ulijn
Professor of International Entrepreneurship, Innovation and
Culture, Open University and Emeritus Jean Monnet Chair,
Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands

Geert Duysters
Professor of Innovation Management, Eindhoven University
of Technology, Tilburg University and UNU-MERIT,
the Netherlands

Elise Meijer
Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands

Edward Elgar
Cheltenham, UK • Northampton, MA, USA
© Jan Ulijn, Geert Duysters and Elise Meijer 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical or photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior
permission of the publisher.

Published by
Edward Elgar Publishing Limited
The Lypiatts
15 Lansdown Road
Cheltenham
Glos GL50 2JA
UK

Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.

William Pratt House
9 Dewey Court
Northampton
Massachusetts 01060
USA

A catalogue record for this book

is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009938399

ISBN 978 1 84844 336 5

Printed and bound by MPG Books Group, UK

02
Contents
List of contributors vii
Preface: filling the gap in strategic alliances, mergers and
acquisitions by Cary L. Cooper xi
Acknowledgements xiii

Culture, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions:

an introduction 1
Elise Meijer, Geert Duysters and Jan Ulijn
1 Strategic alliances and culture in a globalizing world 13
Rajesh Kumar and T.K. Das
2 Why do international alliances fail? Some insights from
culture and human social biology 30
Gert Jan Hofstede
3 Creating a supportive culture for corporate entrepreneurship:
balancing creativity and discipline for the development of
radical innovation by interfirm cooperation 60
Bob Walrave, Victor A. Gilsing and Michiel F. de Jager
4 Culture and its perception in strategic alliances: does it affect
performance? An exploratory study into Dutch–German ventures 96
Jan Ulijn, Geert Duysters and Jean-Marie Fèvre
5 Cultural differences and homogeneity in strategic alliances:
the case of Trimo Trebnje (Slovenia) and Trimo VSK (Russia) 121
Metka Tekavčič, Vlado Dimovski, Darja Peljhan and
Miha Škerlavaj
6 Strategic importance of organizational culture in the context
of organizational growth through acquisitions: the case of the
Helios Group 150
Nada Zupan and Robert Kaše
7 Cross-border marriages: Dutch–Japanese and
Dutch–American combinations 184
Frits Grotenhuis

v
vi Contents

8 Managing potential conflicts in a European banking alliance

in ICT: study of intro- and mutual perception combined for a
cultural fit 202
Jan Eppink, Jan Ulijn and Beatrice van der Heijden
9 Portrait of an odd-eyed cat: cultural crossing as a trademark
for a Dutch–Thai strategic alliance
Nantawan Noi Kwanjai and J. Friso den Hertog 227
10 Resistance to the transfer of management knowledge in
international ventures: steps towards a pathologic
interpretation 255
Gerhard Fink and Nigel J. Holden

Index 279
Contributors
Cary L. Cooper, CBE, Distinguished Professor of Organizational
Psychology and Health at Lancaster University Management School, UK.
T.K. Das, Professor of Strategic Management at the City University of
New York, USA.
Vlado Dimovski, Professor of Management and Organization at
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Geert Duysters, Professor of Innovation Management at the Eindhoven
University of Technology, Tilburg University and UNU-MERIT, the
Netherlands.
Jan Eppink, Professor of Strategy and Environment at VU University
Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He is also a member of a number of super-
visory and advisory boards of companies and foundations.
Jean-Marie Fèvre, Senior Lecturer for Management Sciences at the
University of Metz, France. Active in the field of cross-cultural manage-
ment in different countries and positions for decades, he was awarded the
Cross of Merit of the German Federal Order of Merit in 2000 and was
made a Knight of the French National Order of Merit in 2008.
Gerhard Fink, Jean Monnet Professor for applied microeconomics
in European integration and director of the doctoral programmes at
Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Austria.
Victor A. Gilsing, Associate Professor at the Department for Organization
Studies at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. He is also a Core Fellow of
the Centre for Innovation Research (CIR) at Tilburg University.
Frits Grotenhuis, independent consultant in the field of strategic col-
laboration and innovation. He obtained a PhD degree at the University of
Groningen, the Netherlands, in collaboration with Eindhoven University
of Technology and Waseda University in Japan.
Beatrice van der Heijden, Professor of Strategic HRM at the Open University
of the Netherlands. She is the Head of the Department of Organizational
Behavior/HRM, and Director of Research and Doctoral Programs at the

vii
viii Contributors

Maastricht School of Management, the Netherlands. Moreover, she is

affiliated with the University of Twente at the Department of HRM.
J. Friso den Hertog, Professor of Technology, Organization Policy and
Organization Design, Maastricht University and Professorial Fellow at
UNU-MERIT, the Netherlands.
Gert Jan Hofstede, Associate Professor at the Logistics, Decision
and Information Sciences section, Department of Social Sciences at
Wageningen University and at the Man–Machine Interaction Group at
Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.
Nigel J. Holden, Director of the Institute of International Business,
Department of Strategy and Innovation, Lancashire Business School,
University of Central Lancashire, UK.
Michiel F. de Jager, former graduate student at the Eindhoven University
of Technology, the Netherlands. He is currently working as a consultant
at Deloitte Enterprise Risk Services.
Robert Kaše, Assistant Professor of Management at the Faculty of
Economics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is also the president of
the regional association for HRM in Ljubljana and a member of several
professional and research networks.
Rajesh Kumar, Associate Professor of International Business Strategy at the
University of Nottingham, UK. His research encompasses the management
of alliances, India as an emerging market, and international negotiations.
Nantawan Noi Kwanjai, Doctoral Candidate in Innovation, global busi-
ness strategies and host-country development, UNU-MERIT Maastricht,
the Netherlands.
Elise Meijer, Doctoral Candidate at the Department of Innovation,
Technology Entrepreneurship and Marketing, Eindhoven University of
Technology, the Netherlands. Her research encompasses open innovation,
strategic alliances, alliance teams, alliance portfolio diversity and alliance
capabilities.
Darja Peljhan, Assistant Professor at the Department of Management
and Organization at the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana,
Slovenia. She is also the associate member of the Department of Accounting
at the same university.
Miha Škerlavaj, Assistant Professor at the Department of Management
and Organization at the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana,
Slovenia.
 Contributors ix

Metka Tekavčič, Full Professor at the Department of Management and

Organization at the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana,
Slovenia. She is the Head of the Institute of Management and Organization
at the same university as well as an associate member of the Department
of Accounting.
Jan Ulijn, Professor of International Entrepreneurship, Innovation and
Culture at the Open University and Emeritus Jean Monnet Chair at the
Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands.
Bob Walrave, Doctoral Candidate at the Department of Innovation,
Technology Entrepreneurship and Marketing, Eindhoven University of
Technology, the Netherlands.
Nada Zupan, Associate Professor of Management at the Faculty of
Economics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. She is also a regular pro-
gramme director for different management training courses at Center for
Management Training and Development at the Faculty of Economics,
University Ljubljana (CISEF).
Preface: filling the gap in strategic
alliances, mergers and acquisitions
Cary L. Cooper, CBE

The growth of strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) during

periods of growth has been monumental but, given the period of eco-
nomic downturn that started in 2007 and will continue throughout 2010,
it is likely to grow even faster, as more and more companies will need to
develop strategic alliances, acquire or merge to survive. We have already
seen this in the financial sector, the construction industry, pharmaceuti-
cals, information and communication and technology companies. Before
this period of recession, motivations were varied: to grow by acquisition,
to fulfil the ambitions of larger market share, and so on, but now it is for
survival, to reduce costs and to be stronger in order to compete in a declin-
ing market.
There has been a great deal of research into strategic alliances, mergers
and acquisitions, as can be seen for example by the annual Advances in
Mergers and Acquisitions (Cooper and Finkelstein, 2008). What has been
missing from much of this research, which has encompassed a range of
disciplines from economics to finance to human resource management
to legal issues, has been a systematic focus on the cultures of prospective
allies (Kusstatscher and Cooper, 2005). Although a great deal has been
done on the impact of strategic alliances and M&A on organizational per-
formance and their impact on the individual, very little systematic work
has been done on predicting their success based on the match between the
different cultures involved. What cultures work in strategic alliances and
M&A, and which combinations either do not work or require a great deal
of support after closing the deal?
This book helps to fill this important gap, by bringing together some of
the leading international researchers and thinkers in the field, to provide
the science reviews needed to help us understand the significance of the
influence of culture on successful cooperation. The contributions take an
international perspective and range the globe from the US to Europe to
the Far East. This is truly an outstanding contribution to the literature
and should provide the necessary building blocks of science in strategic

xi
xii Preface

alliances and M&A to help future researchers, as well as practitioners, in

the selection of potential compatible partners and in facilitating a more
successful change process in managing these major organizational events.
This is a ‘must’ read for those working in the field of strategic alliances
and M&A.

REFERENCES

Cooper, C.L. and S. Finkelstein (2008), Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions,

Bingley, UK: Emerald.
Kusstatscher, V. and C.L. Cooper (2005), Managing the Emotions in Mergers and
Acquisitions, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA Edward Elgar
Publishing.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank UNU-MERIT, a joint institute of the United
Nations University and the University of Maastricht specializing in
economic research on innovation and technology in Maastricht (the
Netherlands) and the School of Management of the Open University
of the Netherlands, OUNL, for hosting and facilitating a conference of
the authors of this book and some external experts, such as Professor
Herman van den Bosch of OUNL and Dr Bob Hoekstra, former research
and development (R&D) director of Philips Bangalore (India). Its focus,
coherence and unity has greatly benefited from a careful internal peer
review by both editors and authors based on a fair discussion to reach the
right balance of scientific quality and relevance for the business world.
Apart from this we are grateful to external reviewers, such as Professor
George Tovstiga of the Henley Management College of the University of
Reading, UK. To the extent that the above elements are absent from this
volume, the editors assume sole responsibility.

xiii
Culture, strategic alliances, mergers and
acquisitions: an introduction
Elise Meijer, Geert Duysters and Jan Ulijn

Over the past decades, we have witnessed a sharp upheaval in the number
of external organizational modes such as strategic alliances and mergers
and acquisitions (M&A).1 A large strand of literature has already reported
on the benefits of these modes, for example the sharing of costs and risks,
the learning of new skills and technologies and their role in international
efforts of companies. In spite of the noted benefits, however, the track
record of these external organizational modes paints a black picture. Most
studies show that more than half of the strategic alliances and M&A do
not prove to be successful.
Traditionally, scholars focused on ‘hard’ factors like financial and stra-
tegic factors for explaining the success or failure of these external modes.
More recently, however, research into more ‘soft’ factors such as organiza-
tional and human resources-linked subjects have increased in importance
(Larsson and Finkelstein, 1999; Stahl and Voigt, 2008). This has led to
a growing and emergent body of literature on the importance of culture
for the success of strategic alliances and M&A.2 According to Hofstede
(2001), culture can be treated as ‘the collective programming of the mind
that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from
another’ (p. 9). As argued by among others Stahl and Voigt (2008),
scholars have sought to explain the (under)performance of these exter-
nal modes by variables such as cultural distance (Morosini et al., 1998;
Simonin, 1999; Shenkar, 2001), cultural diversity (Parkhe, 1991), cultural
compatibility (Cartwright and Cooper, 1996; Sarkar et al., 2001), cultural
fit (Datta and Puia, 1995; Child and Faulkner, 1998; Weber et al., 1996),
management style similarity (Larsson and Finkelstein, 1999), organization
(cultural) congruence (Brown et al., 1988; Barkema et al., 1996; Park and
Ungson, 1997), cultural change (Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006), cul-
tural convergence (Birkinshaw et al., 2000), or acculturation (Nahavandi
and Malekzadeh, 1988; Larsson and Lubatkin, 2001).3
Much of this research has investigated the impact of national culture on
the performance or longevity of strategic alliances and M&A. Different

1
2 Strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions

national cultures lead to extensive differences between the people who are
part of the strategic alliance or merger and acquisition because they are
subject to fundamentally different sets of social institutions, including edu-
cation systems, labour markets and geographical mobility (Calori et al.,
1997; Whitley, 1992; Hambrick et al., 2001). These differences in national
culture can create a source of conflict and misunderstanding that prevents
the partners from successful cooperation (for example Parkhe, 1991; Datta
and Puia, 1995; Lyles and Salk, 1996). This is in line with Hofstede’s (1980)
hypothesis of cultural distance in which he argues that the difficulties, costs
and risks associated with cross-cultural contact increase with growing cul-
tural differences between individuals, groups or organizations (Stahl and
Voigt, 2008). Barkema and Vermeulen (1997), for example, found that dif-
ferences in uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation between home
and host country (rather than differences in power distance, individualism
and masculinity) have a negative impact on international joint venture
survival because these make organizations perceive the opportunities and
threats differently, which may result in different actions by the organiza-
tions (Schneider and De Meyer, 1991). However, the opposite view, that
differences in national culture between the partnering organizations can be
beneficial, leading to a source of value creation and learning, has also been
advanced and empirically supported (Shenkar and Zeira, 1992; Park and
Ungson, 1997; Stahl and Voigt, 2008). Morosini et al. (1998), for example,
found that national cultural distance enhances cross-border acquisition per-
formance ‘by providing access to the target’s and/or the acquirer’s diverse
set of routines and repertoires embedded in national culture’ (p. 137).
These inconclusive results of the effect of cultural differences on perfor-
mance may imply that the role of national culture has been overstated:
most studies have not taken into account the impact of organizational cul-
tural differences as well (Pothukuchi et al., 2002; Sirmon and Lane, 2004).
Pothukuchi et al. (2002) even found that the apparent negative effects of
partner dissimilarity on international joint venture performance ‘origi-
nates more from differences in organizational culture than from differences
in national culture because organizational culture distance captures the on-
going operational differences in the norms of organizational practices and
behaviors’ (p. 259) negatively influencing the implementation of the joint
venture. Whereas national culture is first and foremost related to inher-
ent values, organizational culture primarily relates to common beliefs in
organizational practices and processes (Hofstede et al., 1990). According
to Hambrick et al. (2001) each parent firm will have its own internal
culture, including management selection and staffing practices, giving way
to a distinctly skewed set of managers who are responsible for the strategic
alliance or M&A. Research in strategic alliances and M&A has consistently
 An introduction 3

shown negative effects of organizational culture differences (Cartwright

and Cooper, 1993; Pothukuchi et al., 2002). For instance, Weber et al.
(1996) showed that differences in organizational cultures between acquirer
and acquired firm negatively influenced cooperation among the top man-
agers and enhanced negative attitudes toward the merger. Additionally,
Simonin (1999) showed that differences in management styles and business
practices amplify ambiguity in the process of knowledge transfer.
However, there is one cultural level out of the three generally distin-
guished that has often been overlooked and may also affect strategic
alliances and M&A, namely professional culture (Ulijn and Weggeman,
2001; Sirmon and Lane, 2004). According to Sirmon and Lane (2004, 311)
a professional culture exists ‘when a group of people employed in a func-
tionally similar occupation share a set of norms, values and beliefs related
to that occupation’. According to Lane and Lubatkin (1998) individuals
with different occupational socialization and resulting professional culture
lack a common basis from which to interact effectively and from which
the relationship can develop and produce value. Therefore, it is not very
suprising that Lajara et al. (2003) found that technology (research and
development, R&D) alliances are the alliances with the lowest level of
cultural conflict, due to the fact that the habits of scientists and engineers
are practically the same on a worldwide basis. Problems start to occur
when the cooperation is extended to commercialization and distribution
because people from different professional cultural backgrounds start
working together who do not agree on certain points (Schultz, 1998).
On the other hand, different mental models or different ‘thought worlds’
belonging to the different professions may facilitate the dynamic process
of combining diverse competencies which boosts team collective creativ-
ity, leading to the successful development of new products (Olson et al.,
1995).
So far, little attention has been paid to the level of professional culture
in strategic alliances and M&A. Most studies on the role of culture, stra-
tegic alliances and M&A have focused on national and corporate culture.
However, successful cooperation also requires that different professions of
the partnering companies are able to interact with each other. Therefore
the essence of our book is that both national and corporate culture as well
as professional culture may affect the success of strategic alliances and
M&A (see also Sirmon and Lane, 2004). That is, individuals in strategic
alliances and M&A can utilize several different social identities (namely
national, organizational and occupational) as sense-making mechanisms
(see for example Salk and Shenkar (2001)).
Consequently, we will deal in this book with three different levels of
culture, namely national culture, organizational (or corporate) culture and
4 Strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions

professional culture. Given the kaleidoscope of the influence of culture on

strategic alliances and M&A we had to adopt several guidelines for the
order of the chapters in this book. First, the level of culture involved, from
national to corporate to the broadly underestimated professional culture.
Second, being mostly a mix of different levels of culture, the chapters are
also presented in an order going from rather conceptualizing with some
illustrating case study examples, to rather empirical studies.
Chapter 1, ‘Strategic alliances and culture in a globalizing world’ by
Kumar and Das examines how micro behavioural processes in alliances
are affected by national culture. They discuss two significant frameworks
of alliance functioning, namely, those of discrepancy and legitimacy,
and argue that the impact of culture is manifested differently in the two
frameworks. While the discrepancy framework stresses the importance of
expectations, the legitimacy framework highlights the relevance of appro-
priate behaviour. Although expectations and behaviour are no doubt
related, they are also quite distinct, and this distinction is important in
understanding the genesis of the stability problems in an alliance.
Chapter 2, ‘Why do international alliances fail? Some insights from
culture and human social biology’ by Hofstede combines alliance litera-
ture with basic insights from human social biology and culture to explain
why international alliances frequently fail. In particular, the work of
Hofstede is brought to bear upon the processes that occur in alliances.
First, he argues that alliances often fail for many other reasons than
culture. Hereafter a number of frameworks from the alliance literature
are introduced. Kumar and Nti’s framework about the evolution of
discrepancies is the most important of these, as it can explain the dynam-
ics of cross-cultural conflicts. The importance of alliance formation
has been considered to be a basic ability of human groups. After this,
Hofstede’s framework of five basic issues of culture is introduced, and
national culture is briefly positioned against professional and organiza-
tional culture. These various theories are integrated in a discussion about
three boundaries that alliances have to cope with: the issues of authority,
of joint group membership and of fairness. The insights from culture
theory are used to elucidate how issues from the alliance literature can
play out in different cross-cultural situations. Two case studies taken from
the international agro-food sector illustrate the argument.
Chapter 3, ‘Creating a supportive culture for corporate entrepreneur-
ship: balancing creativity and discipline for the development of radical
innovation by interfirm cooperation’ by Walrave, Gilsing and De Jager,
addresses the question of whether entrepreneurial corporate activities and/
or ventures are required to deviate from established practices that come
with the dominant corporate culture. To answer this question they analyse
 An introduction 5

the key features of culture of an organizational unit that specializes in

corporate entrepreneurship (CE) activities, using Hofstede’s dimensions
of corporate culture. They illustrate this analysis with empirical findings
on the culture of various CE units within two large, high-tech companies.
Moreover they discuss how such a CE-‘friendly’ culture may be created.
Here, they specifically discuss the role of strategic alliances as a means to
accomplish a CE culture in such a way that it indeed differs in essential
ways from the dominant parent culture.
In Chapter 4, ‘Culture and its perception in strategic alliances: does it
affect performance? An exploratory study into Dutch–German ventures’,
Ulijn, Duysters and Fèvre consider both national and corporate culture.
This exploratory study examines the fit, that is, the degree of fruitful com-
patibility, of six national culture (NC) and six corporate culture (CC) (the
dimensions of Hofstede) parameters in 12 Dutch–German cooperation
processes. Twenty-four firms were asked to verify the nature of their cul-
tural fit and to relate this perception to the perceived alliance performance.
There appears to be a strong (not necessarily causal) relationship between
the perception of cultural fit and the corresponding alliance performance.
This finding may have important implications for alliance management.
Instead of its general preoccupation with strategic and operational fit
among alliance partners, more attention should be paid to cultural fit. The
inclusion of cultural fit indicators in the overall partner selection process
might well pay off in terms of increased alliance performance.
In Chapter 5, ‘Cultural differences and homogeneity in strategic alliances:
the case of Trimo Trebnje (Slovenia) and Trimo VSK (Russia)’, Tekavčič,
Dimovski, Peljhan and Škerlavaj pinpoint the issue of national, organi-
zational and professional cultures within a strategic alliance. The study
presents the case of Trimo Trebnje d.d., a Slovenian construction company,
and its greenfield joint-venture investment Trimo VSK Kovrov from
Russia. Using the Trompenaars measurement instrument they show that in
terms of national cultures (as perceived by members of these two organiza-
tions) Slovenian and Russian companies differ significantly only in terms of
in terms of specificity, achievement orientation and sequence. A relatively
homogeneous organizational culture was developed and is still developing
due to a strong training effect. Interactions among professional and national
cultures prove that professional cultures have a bigger impact on employees’
dedication than the organizational culture. They explain homogeneity in the
manufacturing department in terms of the professional culture effect as well
as good communication of values and practices in the past.
Chapter 6, ‘Strategic importance of organizational culture in the context
of organizational growth through acquisitions: the case of the Helios
Group’ by Zupan and Kaše, aims to analyse the cultural fit among
6 Strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions

the three largest companies in the Helios Group: the mother company
Helios (Slovenian), and the acquired companies Zvezda Helios (Serbian)
and Color (Slovenian as well) using the above-mentioned Trompenaars
method. Cultural fit between the companies involved in an acquisition has
been known to be one of the important factors determining the success
of the acquisition. With the growing number of acquisitions, the Helios
Group top management has also recognized this issue to be important for
further development as a modern international corporation. They argue
that companies should focus on the optimal cultural fit rather than absolute
cultural fit. Some differences in organizational culture could be beneficial
because they better suit either national (especially at lower firm levels) or
professional cultures and could actually contribute positively to company
performance. However, when it comes to lower firm levels, where the effect
of national culture seems to be stronger, a careful consideration as to which
organizational culture changes are really needed is crucial, because it would
not be effective to go against national culture contexts or to break away too
abruptly from traditions and thus risk a higher resistance to change.
Chapter 7, ‘Cross-border marriages: Dutch–Japanese and Dutch–
American combinations’ by Grotenhuis, deals with cultural differences
within cross-border mergers. Several reasons for failure have been brought
up in the literature; however real-life cases of the ‘how’ and ‘why’ are
limited or fragmented, especially for processes of cultural integration. The
cases described in this chapter concern combinations of Dutch–Japanese
and Dutch–American organizations. Grotenhuis uses three in-depth case
studies to illustrate cultural integration patterns. Based on these in-depth
cases between Dutch–Japanese and Dutch–American mergers, and a lit-
erature review, he concludes that cultural differences can play a major role
in the success of a merger, but not necessarily. This is related to several
factors – amongst others, the degree of integration – but also to the way in
which management deals with the differences. Based on the case studies,
four different patterns of acculturation could be discerned: ‘marriage after
engagement’, ‘shotgun wedding’, ‘living apart together’ and ‘divorce’.
In Chapter 8, ‘Managing potential conflicts in a European banking
alliance in ICT: study of intro- and mutual perception combined for a
cultural fit’, Eppink, Ulijn and Van der Heijden go into some other factors
that may impact upon the success of the strategic cooperation beside cul-
tural (mis)fit. In this respect they draw attention to the appropriateness of
the chosen aims for the alliance, the appropriateness of the chosen form
relative to the aims, and the stages in the evolution of an alliance that may
require adaptation of the alliance competences to the new situation. In
the empirical part of the chapter, they investigate the role of culture in the
strategic alliance within the Information and Communication Technology
 An introduction 7

(ICT) area between seven European banks. Hall’s (1995) cultural dimen-
sions are used. They find that assertiveness and responsiveness play a
major role, but uncertainty avoidance and power distance far less. Such
factors have an impact on expectations for the cooperation, and also on
the ways conflicts are resolved.
Chapter 9, ‘Portrait of an odd-eyed cat: cultural crossing as a trademark
for a Dutch–Thai strategic alliance’ by Kwanjai and den Hertog, presents
the case of a Dutch–Thai joint venture that thrived, by weaving together
the many intricate cultural webs, to achieve a unique pattern of partner-
ship which, metaphorically speaking, became its indispensible trademark.
The case illustrates how the three levels of culture expounded in this book
– national, organizational and professional cultures – could all interlace in
a real-world setting and serve as an instrumental force of success amidst
tension in one particular cross-border strategic alliance.
In Chapter 10, ‘Resistance to the transfer of management knowledge
in international ventures: steps towards a pathologic interpretation’, Fink
and Holden consider a longitudinal stylized case of Austrian firms taken
over by a well-established and successful US firm with a clear and explicit
corporate culture. After three to four years almost all original members
had left the firm and were replaced by new ones who better fitted the cor-
porate culture of the US firm. Why did a pattern like that emerge? Fink
and Holden propose that it is not so much about differences in national
culture, but a factor that is not necessarily visible and is almost certainly
discounted until it is too late: psychological reactions to the disorienting
impact of the change processes, which often are misinterpreted as staff
resistance, but which are symptomatic of the very pathology of cross-
cultural business encounters. To support this proposition, they develop
concepts of collective culture shock and cultural stretch. Their starting
point is a consideration of four cases involving prominent organizations
in their quest to find ‘common cognitive ground’ (Nonaka and Takeuchi,
1995) with protagonists in a variety of cross-cultural interactions, all of
which have evolved over several years.
What are the outcomes of these chapters with regard to the relative
impact of respectively national, corporate and professional culture on the
performance of strategic alliances and M&A? What progress could this
book make, in following on from that by Cartwright and Cooper (1996)
on the human factor in strategic alliances and M&A? What research out-
comes are to be expected, based upon some recommendations for future
studies in this respect?
Increasingly it has been suggested in the literature that professional
culture might easily overrule the effect of corporate culture or even national
culture (Ulijn and Weggeman, 2001). For example, Sirmon and Lane (2004)
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