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Different forms of inter-organisational encounters, including joint ventures, alliances, mergers and acquisitions, have over the last decades become fashionable and much-sought means of globalisation. A continuous concern shared by managers involved in these different forms of inter-organisational encounters is the challenge of making them work in practice – their successful implementation and management. The cultural dimensions of these different kinds of inter-organisational encounters, particularly in cross-border contexts, have been deplored as being particularly difficult. This paper builds on prior research and aims to understand how the cultural dimensions of inter-organisational encounters have been approached by researchers on mergers and acquisitions on the one hand and researchers on alliances and joint ventures on the other hand. Based on a comparative literature review, the findings suggest that the two fields, despite their valuable contributions and the similarities in the phenomena they study, have remained surprisingly isolated from one another and would offer opportunities for cross-fertilisation. Through its theoretical contribution, the paper intends to offer insights to researchers in both streams of research.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the influence of cultural collectivism on the efficacy of lean practices. Furthermore, this study assesses whether or not potential cultural disadvantages related to the level of individualism at the national level can be compensated for at the organisational culture level.

Hofstede’s cultural dimension of individualism is used to test whether practicing a collectivistic culture at the organisational level can fully compensate for the potential disadvantages of being geographically situated in an individualistic culture when practicing lean manufacturing.

Results suggest that cultural collectivism at the national and organisational level have a significant impact on the efficacy of lean practices. Furthermore, the negative impact of being situated in an individualistic country cannot be fully compensated for through practicing a collectivistic organisational culture when practicing lean.

This study represents a comprehensive attempt to simultaneously assess the collectivism cultural components of lean practices at the national as well as at the organisational level.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and review whether national culture influences organisational beliefs about and behaviours to trans‐national alliance partners.

Reviewed extant studies on national culture, organisational culture and business‐to‐business relationship. Using information from the literature review and key informant surveys, a survey instrument comprising of close‐ended questions was developed. The questionnaire was sent to the Chief Executives Officer's of 1,248 organisations identified through systematically selecting every third organisation in the sampling frame. Two weeks later, universal reminders were sent to all 1,248 organisations. The data from 376 fully completed questionnaires returned were analysed through exploratory factor analysis and canonical correlation analysis.

National culture influences beliefs about and behaviours to trans‐national alliance partners. However, beliefs and behaviours are also influenced by the complex inter‐relationships between relational constructs such as trust, commitment, co‐operation, dependence, communication and compatibility. Often, compatibility is not only influenced by national culture but also by the size, business activity and how the organisation is incorporated.

Beliefs about and behaviours to trans‐national partner organisations are not solely influenced by national culture. It is the outcome of complex and diverse social, political, economic and organisational factors and how these factors influence orientations to issues such as trust, commitment, co‐operation and communication.

Explores a hitherto under‐researched theme on trans‐national business alliances, the influence of the national culture of organisations on various relational issues discussed in business‐to‐business relationship studies. The study consolidates knowledge from three streams of literature (national culture, organisational culture and business‐to‐business relationship), often handled as disparate sources of knowledge.

On a global scale, leadership takes place within a complex environment that is molded both by national culture and organizational culture influences. This chapter explores leader-culture (L-C) fit in this global context. Drawing together distinct perspectives on national culture and organizational culture, we identify potential contingencies of L-C fit across these levels. In addition to identifying key gaps and areas for future exploration, we also discuss the practical uses of fit when selecting and developing leaders. Overall, we argue that researchers and practitioners could benefit from an expanded perspective on cultural fit to simultaneously address aspects of national and organizational culture.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a quantitative integration of the existing empirical body of literature on culture and acquisition performance.

The study is based on a meta-analytical approach that synthesizes 189 effect sizes from 24 independent samples with a total sample size of n=5,496 acquisitions.

This meta-analytical study found a consistently negative and significant relationship between organizational cultural differences and acquisition performance, and a dual effect of national cultural differences (i.e. cultural distance) on acquisition performance. It further identified significant methodological and contextual moderators and discusses the implications for acquisitions in emerging markets.

Due to the nature of meta-analyses, this study is based on existing (i.e. available secondary) data. Future research may collect novel, primary data to further test the conceptual model and respective relationships developed therein.

This study sheds light onto the culture-based performance determinants of acquisitions and the effects of methodological and contextual moderator variables. Given the significant importance of acquisitions across organizational and national cultures, the findings may inform business practitioners when developing sustainable strategies to successfully integrate organizations that are culturally different and/or are located in culturally diverse environments.

A better understanding about the culture-based performance determinants of acquisitions may inform public policy makers about how to regulate and set incentives for acquisitions, which constitute a main vehicle through which firms undertake foreign direct investment, and which can be considered a global sustainable growth strategy for multinational corporations and entire economies.

This paper is original in that it provides a large-scale and in-depth quantitative integration and synthesis of the empirical literature on culture and acquisition performance based on a meta-analytical approach and so has important theoretical value and empirical implications for future emerging market research.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a synthesis based on a review of the existing literature with respect to the variations in training practices and attitudes across national cultures.

A content analysis technique was adopted with a comparative cross‐cultural management perspective as a backdrop to address the occurrence of differences in practices and attitudes across various national cultures.

Most of the extant literature remains distant from providing a systematic and analytical repertoire on the subject. In efforts to bridge this gap, a synthesis of the literature has been elaborated, identifying a range of variations that have been grouped around the following categories: importance of organizational training; access to organizational training; different types of training provided to employees; actors involved in organizational training; and organizational support for training.

The heterogeneity of the literature impeded the use of a theoretical training management framework for the present review.

Organizations operating overseas and HRM/HRD practitioners should consider the complexity of diverse cultural differences, while managing employee training in culturally diverse settings. Nations ought to be aware of training practices abroad to observe trends and changes caused by globalization, as they may influence the shaping of national training practices and regulations. From a theoretical point of view, it is important to undertake conclusive research by further examining training practices and attitudes through the various national cultures with the objective of better circumventing the differences and by highlighting their prominent characteristics and implications.

The present contribution is the first documented synthesis of the literature on the subject.

This paper aims to explain the effects of national and organizational cultures of boundary spanners on their choices of using three archetype power-based behaviors – dominance, egalitarian and submissive – with supply chain partners. Improved outcomes for global supply chain (GSC) partners are anticipated due to the ways that cultural intelligence affects these culturally guided decisions.

Drawing on multiple streams of literature and focusing on boundary spanners in GSCs, the authors build a conceptual framework that highlights cultural antecedents of predispositions toward power-based behaviors and explains the moderating role of cultural intelligence of boundary spanners on behaviors performed.

The authors propose that boundary spanners’ national and organizational cultural values influence predispositions toward applying and accepting power-based behaviors. They also discuss how cultural intelligence moderates the relationship between culturally determined predispositions and power-based behaviors applied by partners. The cultural intelligence of boundary spanners is argued to have a pivotal role in making power-based decisions, resulting in healthier cross-cultural buyer–supplier relationships.

This paper is the first paper to advance an understanding of the cultural antecedents of boundary spanners’ power-based behaviors that are exercised and interpreted by partners in GSCs. Furthermore, the potential role of cultural intelligence in inter-organizational power dynamics and power-based partner behaviors in supply chains has not previously been discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the degree of success in international assignments that public relations (PR) practitioners experience and explores the influence of both organizational culture and national culture.

PR practitioners in the USA and South Africa were surveyed.

Results show that there is no difference between PR practitioners from the USA and South Africa with experience in international assignments, in terms of degree of success in international assignments and of level of preparedness for international assignments. It was also found that there is no significant correlation between national culture or organizational culture and the degree of success in international assignments for those respondents with international experience.

The response rate was limited and therefore the results cannot be generalized. Future research would be to further extend this study to include additional countries.

The results support the concept that a PR practitioner with an organic organizational culture and a long‐term orientation of national culture will be better prepared to engage in international assignments than a practitioner with a mechanistic organizational culture and a short‐term orientation of national culture.

This study adds to the literature on international PR practice, and compares the practice in a developing economy, South Africa, to a developed economy, the USA.

This paper aims to examine the concept of learning organization (LO) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its objective is to provide initial insight into the potential impact of cultural context on how business managers perceive and interpret the LO theory and practice.

The study was conducted in two phases; the first phase involved a focus group review and discussion of the LO concept and major LO models. With insights gained from the focus group discussions, the second phase of the study developed a number of hypotheses on the potential impact of national cultural orientations on the LO concept, which were tested with managerial responses to a survey.

While UAE managers viewed and interpreted the LO concept in several different ways, most qualitative comments emphasized the following four aspects of an LO: workplace learning, organizational learning, learning climate and learning structure. Both sets of data revealed strong linkages between dimensions of national culture and the LO concept. Organizational culture partially mediated the relationship between national cultural orientations and aspects of an LO. Potential barriers to the implementation of the LO concept as perceived by respondents were largely related to national cultural value orientations and organizational cultures. The findings suggested that Western LO models and measurement instruments do not fully capture the socio-cultural reality of UAE-based organizations and the manner in which they view and interpret the LO concept and practices in their specific context.

Being a preliminary and largely reflective in nature, the present study has relied more heavily upon the qualitative data than the survey data.

The findings of this study document the value of culture-specific criteria to monitor the performance of companies in their LO journey rather than using a standardized LO assessment model.

The study represents an initial attempt at enhancing the understanding of the impact of national culture on the development and application of the LO concept and the challenges it faces in the UAE context.