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A model focusing on the role of the individual in national and corporate culture clash situations, during post-merger integration, is presented. The theory of psychological contract is adapted to explain different individual expectations in domestic versus international mergers and acquisitions (M&As). It is proposed that expectations on the part of both parties to the merger can act to moderate the effects of culture clash in M&As on acquired management attitudes and behavior, and thereby influence post-merger turnover and integration success. Thus, the model explains the inconsistencies of empirical findings about the different effects of national versus corporate cultural differences on M&A performance. The implications of these ideas for research and practice are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the influence of behaviour factors (corporate cultural differences and transformational leadership) on acquisition performance, through the mediating role of speed of post-acquisition change (as a process factor), in the specific context of a transitional economy.

A model was tested on a sample of acquisitions in Serbia carried out by domestic and European companies. In total, 208 valid questionnaires were collected from 10 acquired companies. Linear regression analysis was used to test the research hypotheses. To test the mediator hypothesis, Baron and Kenny's (1986) procedure was used. Statistical significance of indirect or mediated effect was calculated with Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) macro provided by Preacher and Hayes (2004).

Mediator analysis shows that corporate cultural differences and transformational leadership have direct and indirect impacts on acquisition performance.

The results may be significant for managers involved in the processes of acquisitions, in terms of helping them to make appropriate decisions in different phases of an acquisition process, so as to obtain sufficient levels of employee commitment and trust to improve acquisition performance.

This research contributes to a better understanding of the relationships between behaviour factors and acquisition performance. In particular, no research into the speed of post-acquisition changes as a mediator variable between behaviour factors and acquisition performance has previously been conducted, to the best of the authors' knowledge. Thus, this research offers a unique understanding in the transitional economy context of Serbia.

The purpose of this study is to provide a better insight into the role of national cultures on the management and design of workplaces of multinationals in different countries.

This explorative study is based on an extensive literature review of dimensions of a national culture in connection to corporate real estate management, interviews with ten representatives of multinationals on corporate real estate strategies and workplace characteristics and a multiple case study of two multinational firms with site visits and observations at offices in The Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain.

Whereas all interviewed companies had their real estate portfolio to some extent aligned to the local national culture, none had a strict central policy about this issue. Differences in workplace characteristics were mainly caused by the involvement of local people in workplace design. Using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, the case studies showed relationships between masculinity of a culture and the expression of status and between uncertainty avoidance and openness to innovation; however, no relationships were found related to differences in power distance and short-/long-term orientation.

The case studies were conducted in three European Union countries. Due to practical reasons, most interviewees were Dutch. Additional empirical research including more different national cultures is needed to advance more unequivocal conclusions and to develop a clear set of guidelines for decision-making.

The findings stress the importance of finding a balance between aligning facilities to business purposes and meeting the needs of different (groups of) employees in multinational environments.

Although much has been written about national culture, not much research is yet available in connection to facilities management and corporate real estate management.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of IJV performance expectations for a sample of international joint ventures with parent firms from Europe, North America and Australia. A conceptual framework is proposed which identifies the determinants of IJV performance as the dominant control of the IJV by one parent firm, the level of autonomy granted to the IJV management, the level of trust between the partner firms, the effect of differences in the national cultures of IJV partners and the differences in the organizational cultures of IJV partners.

The study adopts a self‐administered questionnaire approach to examine the determinants of performance in the sample firms. The starting point for obtaining a sample of parent firms was the OSIRIS database. Paper copies of the questionnaires were posted to potential respondents. This was followed by an e‐mail to the same potential respondents with the questionnaires attached. In total, 109 usable questionnaires were obtained from respondent companies – 22 questionnaires were returned from the postal survey and 87 questionnaires were returned from the follow‐up e‐mail.

Predicted positive relationships between performance expectations and dominant control of the IJV, autonomy granted to the IJV management, and trust between the partner firms are supported by the data. The predicted negative relationship between performance expectations and national culture differences was not supported, however, the expected negative relationship between performance expectations and corporate culture differences was partially supported.

This study adds to the international business literature on IJVs and provides new empirical evidence in the context of Europe, North America and Australia.

Although the extant literature widely recognizes the impact of corporate culture on performance, such findings are either speculative or mostly based on US companies, thus may not be generalisable to other national settings. In addition, while industry effect is considered in a few studies, its combined effect with other factors on performance has not been explored. This study modifies the existing model of corporate culture on performance by adding industry effect to the model. This is also the first study that tests such a relationship in a Middle East setting. Due to its unique culture, data collection in the Middle East region has been difficult if not impossible. More research in this region is needed since most of it is still in its infancy. This study investigates firms in Bahrain, the financial hub of the Arab World, to shed some insight onto this region. The results confirm a positive relation between Culture and performance and marginal industry effect between banks and hotels.

The purpose of this paper is to advance cross‐cultural management during mergers and acquisitions (M&A), an issue that remains poorly understood despite a large body of literature accumulated over many years of study and experience.

Based on literature review and case studies of both successful and unsuccessful companies, this paper clarifies the concept, the assessment and the use of corporate culture and its dimensions during all mergers and acquisitions stages, and as such shows its role as an important and influential milestone in the international business environment exploration.

The paper arrives at the conclusion that the enduring paradox of the high rate of M&A failure vs the growing activity of M&A may be due to lack of synchronized activities of all merger stages.

The paper presents frameworks and managerial tools that can help researchers and practitioners conduct better corporate culture assessment during all stages of the M&A, including screening, planning, and negotiation, and enhance the effectiveness of interventions carried out during post‐merger integration process.

The paper offers insights into corporate culture and its impact during pre‐merger stage, negotiation, and the post‐merger integration process.

In mergers and acquisitions (M&As) the culture of the acquired organization often represents a counterculture for the acquiring firm. The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of an acquisition of German FAST by the Israeli firm Aladdin, and exemplifies the post‐merger integration issues that arose as a result of the culture clash between amalgamating entities in the high‐tech industry.

The study used a qualitative research design because of the need for in‐depth understanding of the processes, local contextualization, causal inference, and the necessity to expose the points of view of the participants. Triangulation was one of the important means of increasing construct validity and substantiating findings and propositions.

The case study analysis covers the processes that affect M&A performance and elucidates a significance of the post‐merger integration approach that is implemented in cross‐border M&As.

The examination sheds light on the pre‐ and post‐merger processes and provides new insights into both.

The case study describes two international high‐tech companies before their merger, the negotiation process, and the post‐merger integration approach adopted by the acquiring firm. The study extends the existing limited knowledge about integration approach in implementation of international high‐tech mergers.

The success of mergers and acquisitions are contingent upon organizational operations, legal structures, and fiscal responsibilities. Each of these areas requires a proper mix of human capital – people – assigned to carry out the objectives and goals of the emerging entity. Within the general knowledge of Mergers and acquisitions (M&As), research focusing upon these aspects of human capital have been lacking. This chapter adds to the current knowledge of M&A human resources by establishing a framework that can direct future research.

The authors measure the impact of culture on Sharia; Social and Financial Disclosure (SSFD) of Islamic Banks (IBs) around the world.

Content analysis is used to measure levels of disclosure for a sample of 136 IBs of 25 countries for years 2013 and 2014. Different cultural measures are used. These include secrecy/transparency as suggested by Gray (1988) and Hofstede (1980, 1983, 2001, 2010)’s culture dimensions which include: Power Distance; Individualism; Masculinity; Uncertainty Avoidance; Long-Term Ordination and Indulgence. Ordinary least square (OLS) regression is used to test the research hypotheses.

After controlling bank-specific, corporate governance and country characteristics, the authors found that Hofstede’s culture dimensions have a significant impact on SSFD. They also found that Gray's transparency dimension positively influence levels of sharia, social and aggregated disclosure. Therefore, they conclude that culture influences levels of disclosure in IBs.

This study has policy implications for managers and regulators of Islamic banking industry.

This study is the first to use both Gray and Hofstede models in the context of IBs around the world. It also the first to explore the impact of culture on three different disclosure levels for IBs.