Cultural Dimensions of International Mergers and Acquisitions

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The contributions of this reader give an insight into the importance of the organizational and cultural aspects of cross-national mergers and acquisitions. Mergers and acquisitions are the predominant forms of internationalization, expansion, and growth. In the past, research on M&As focused on legal, financial, and economic aspects to determine the best 'strategic fit' with optimal synergy effects. Yet a failure rate of roughly fifty per cent gave rise to an increasing awareness of organizational and cultural aspects of integration strategies, the importance of cultural factors for globalization: the 'cultural fit'. The reader, based on case studies of transnational companies, provides and overview of the different theoretical and methodological approaches and debates crucial issues of high significance for management students and managers alike.