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Does cultural assimilation affect organizational decision-making on quality-related incidents? — A company's post-M&A experience

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  • Ito, Satoshi
  • Fujimura, Shuzo
  • Tamiya, Toshihiko

Abstract

Differences in organizational culture have been suggested as the major reason for the failure of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to achieve synergies. We analyze an M&A case, focusing on the assimilation of organizational culture particularly with regard to quality. The purpose is to explore the consequences that internal inconsistencies in quality culture exert on quality performance, and to illustrate whether the assimilation of quality culture relates to organizational decision-making as corporate integration proceeds after a merger. We collect a unique data set that is not generally available, including internal quality data, customers' quality ratings, and records of quality-related incident resolution. A total of 301 incidents occurring during five years after a merger are analyzed by measuring the time taken to address the incidents and conducting a questionnaire survey followed by interviews. Further, a modeling study of the cultural assimilation process is conducted to establish a relationship between our theory and empirical findings. The results reveal that the efficiency of organizational decision-making is associated with the degree of cultural assimilation and how deeply into the layers of quality culture the assimilation extends. The findings suggest pragmatic implications as well as effective strategies managers could adopt for M&As and stimulate further research on corporate consolidations.

Suggested Citation

  • Ito, Satoshi & Fujimura, Shuzo & Tamiya, Toshihiko, 2012. "Does cultural assimilation affect organizational decision-making on quality-related incidents? — A company's post-M&A experience," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 160-179.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:intman:v:18:y:2012:i:2:p:160-179
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2012.02.004
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    Cited by:

    1. Jenkins A. Asaah & Beatrice L. Asaah & Austin W. Luguterah, 2020. "Diagnosing the Organizational Culture of Rural Community Banks in Ghana and Its Effects on Their Financial Performance," Journal of Social Science Studies, Macrothink Institute, vol. 7(2), pages 86-114, December.
    2. Campagnolo, Diego & Vincenti, Giampiero, 2022. "Cross-border M&As: The impact of cultural friction and CEO change on the performance of acquired companies," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4).
    3. Reddy, Kotapati Srinivasa, 2015. "The State of Case Study Research in Mergers & Acquisitions: A Review of the Literature in Different Management Streams," MPRA Paper 63939, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2015.
    4. Cláudia Frias Pinto & Fernando Ribeiro Serra & Manuel Portugal Ferreira, 2014. "A bibliometric study on culture research in International Business," Working Papers 107, globADVANTAGE, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria.
    5. Wei, Tian & Clegg, Jeremy, 2014. "Successful integration of target firms in international acquisitions: A comparative study in the Medical Technology industry," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 237-255.

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