Comparative Research On Corporate Cultural Values In Chinese Overseas M&A

Under the trend of economic globalization, more and more foreign corporations settheir foot in Chinese market; meanwhile, some Chinese corporations also want to goglobal. Due to its strong feasibility, overseas M&A tend to be more and more popularamong Chinese enterprises. However, most of the Chinese overseas M&A end in failure.So, there is an imperative to research on these underlying factors and reasons.Therefore, based on Hofstede’s national cultural dimension framework, by adoptingcomparative studies and cases studies research methods, in this thesis, similarities anddiversities in corporate cultural values of China, the United States and France are analyzedthrough comparison at a macro level in the first place. Then, another comparative study ofthe corporate cultural differences in selected overseas successful and failing M&A cases,represented by Lenovo and IBM and TCL and Alcatel, is conducted at a micro level. Onthe ground of the foregoing analysis and discussion, some key corporate cultural valuesare extracted, such as organizational structure, communication approach, decision-makingand leadership style, strategy-making style, criteria of hiring and promotion, importanceattached to individuals, personal relationship and the quality of life. Experience andlessons are drawn from successful and failing cases and useful suggestions for dealingwith corporate cultural differences are proposed to offer references for other Chinesecorporations who want to go global. Above all, elaborate investigation and analysis,especially on corporate cultural values, are necessary before making decisions on whetherthe M&A should be started and whether the potential partner is worth being acquired.What’s more, the common ground of the counterparts should be made good use of. In thethird place, culture chauvinism is not preferred when corporate cultural differences exist,instead, communications and compromises should be made on the basis of mutual respect.Finally, do not undervalue our own corporate cultural values while learning from andtaking in western corporate cultures. And safe conclusion can be arrived at that only byattaching great importance to the unities and diversities of corporate cultural values can Chinese corporations lower the risk of overseas M&A.