Cross border M & A has gradually become an effective means for Chinese enterprises to expand the international market, expand the scale of enterprises and achieve better development of enterprises. However, the integration of corporate culture has increasingly become the key to the success of cross-border mergers and acquisitions of Chinese enterprises. Through the analysis of the types and stages of cultural integration in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, this paper provides valuable and meaningful experience introduction for Chinese enterprises to expand the international market and achieve global development, and helps enterprises interested in cross-border operations to establish the awareness of corporate cultural integration, solve cultural conflicts, and achieve successful cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
0 Introduction
At present, the pace of China's reform and opening-up is accelerating, the reform is strengthening, and the degree of opening-up is deepening. It not only attracts more and more multinational companies to invest in China, but also stimulates Chinese enterprises to continue to go abroad to achieve transnational operations. More and more enterprises actively carry out foreign direct investment, and mergers and acquisitions have become an important form. With the intensification of exchanges, cultural conflict and integration have become an important issue in enterprise mergers, and even affect the success or failure of enterprise mergers. In this context, it is particularly important to formulate the implementation plan of corporate culture integration and solve the problem of cultural conflict.
1. Cultural model in cross-border mergers and acquisitions
There are many cultural differences in different countries. How to solve the cultural differences is an important issue in cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Each enterprise has a different cultural background, a completely different management team, management philosophy and management history; Multinational enterprises are influenced by different political and legal backgrounds because they involve crossing national borders. In the process of merging foreign enterprises, it is the integration of enterprise culture developed under the influence of two completely different political laws. In the process of integration of two enterprises with different strengths and weaknesses, there are three different cultural integration modes. Choosing the appropriate cultural mode according to the comparison of enterprise strength is conducive to the better integration and development of enterprises. Among them, the integration of culture is the sublation of the original culture of the enterprise, and the breeding and reconstruction of the new enterprise culture on the basis of eliminating the inferior and retaining the excellent, which can realize the cultural integration and Transcendence of the restructured enterprise. Specifically, there are three cultural modes: the integration mode of culture, the promotion mode of culture and the regeneration mode of culture.
1.1 cultural integration mode when conducting joint mergers and acquisitions of enterprises of both sides, if the corporate culture advantages of both sides are equal, it is difficult to have cultural annexation at this time. Both sides appreciate the excellent part of each other's corporate culture, so they can properly absorb the advantages of each other's culture and adjust or change some bad factors in their original corporate culture. After the merger and acquisition of enterprises, the two excellent cultures can penetrate and blend with each other, absorb each other's advantages, and finally integrate. After the integration, the two sides are a new type of culture that is mixed with each other's excellent cultures and beyond a single culture. When the two sides agree with each other and learn from each other with an open mind, the cultural integration method will achieve great results. On the contrary, if the strong are unwilling to change and blend with each other, the merger will be difficult to continue.
1.2 culture promotion mode when a weak culture is impacted by a strong culture, the strong culture can maintain the basic mode unchanged, and its value system is relatively stable, which is not easy to be affected by the weak culture. Strong culture will make adaptive changes in some specific cultural appearances, making the original cultural functions more perfect and more able to carry the needs of weak cultures, which is conducive to the cooperation between the two sides, so as to promote the overall efficiency.
1.3 cultural regeneration mode the mode of cultural regeneration is often adopted by both weak and merged enterprises. When the weaker parties want to become stronger enterprises through integration, both parties have the vision of changing the original corporate culture and creating a new enterprise, which is also the essence of the merger. After the merger, on the basis of introducing the excellent corporate culture of other enterprises, a new culture suitable for their own enterprises will be formed, so that the original corporate culture of both sides will disappear completely. This is similar to the new establishment and merger of enterprises. Through this integration, enterprises are easy to use new technologies, new technologies, and employees are easy to integrate.
2. The process of merging corporate culture
The process of cultural integration after mergers and acquisitions is a long-term and arduous systematic project, which can not be achieved overnight. The cultural integration of enterprise mergers and acquisitions roughly needs to go through five stages: original culture identification and identification, new culture design and integration plan, new culture introduction, new culture integration, and new culture management. Each stage is related to the success or failure of cultural integration. The specific situation of enterprise cross-border mergers and acquisitions should be considered to make the cross-border mergers and acquisitions smoothly realized.
The first is the original cultural identification and appraisal stage, which requires a comprehensive identification and appraisal of the current situation of the corporate culture of the target enterprises and M & A enterprises, confirmation of the core elements of their respective cultures, analysis of their advantages and disadvantages, identification of conflicting and overlapping areas, and determination of the best way of cultural integration. The second stage is the stage of new culture design and cultural integration plan. This stage requires the design of new corporate culture on the basis of comprehensive identification and identification of the corporate culture of both mergers and acquisitions, and the formulation of scientific cultural integration plans and steps. The third stage is the introduction stage of new culture. In this stage, according to the cultural integration plan, the new corporate culture will be gradually introduced into the target enterprises or M & A enterprises in a timely manner. The fourth stage is the new culture integration stage, which is a relatively long process of corporate culture change. In this process, we should pay attention to timely adjust the design of the new corporate culture according to the new situation, so that the cultural integration can be carried out effectively. It is particularly important for cross-border mergers and acquisitions. The last stage is the new culture management stage. The introduction of new corporate culture does not mean the end of corporate culture integration. On the contrary, since cultural integration is a long-term process, it is necessary to carry out continuous culture management to ensure the realization of the objectives of cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
3. Strategies of corporate culture integration in cross-border mergers and acquisitions
3.1 to accommodate cultural differences in transnational operations, we must recognize this, fully understand the cultural differences between our country and the host country, and achieve cultural inclusion. To deal with differences, we should first understand and investigate the differences, and then formulate different measures according to the differences to ensure the sustainability and health of enterprise operations, seek common ground while reserving differences, and try to change and reduce the differences between the two. In Europe, enterprise employees are used to going to and from work on time without the concept of overtime. At the same time, according to the constraints of Christianity, they can't go to work on Sundays, but the Chinese people don't have this. This is incomprehensible to Westerners. Chinese enterprises' cross-border mergers and acquisitions must take into account the characteristics of foreign cultures and religions, fully respect differences, correct what can be corrected, and tolerate what can be tolerated. When conducting cross-border mergers and acquisitions, we should first pay attention to differences, then respect tolerable differences, and finally find a balance point, establish fundamental values, seek common ground while reserving differences, and achieve common development.
3.2 choose the integration mode according to the strength of the enterprise culture and return to the actual situation of the enterprise. Choose the integration mode according to the strength of the enterprise and the popularity and acceptance of the culture. You cannot "impose your own enterprise culture on others". As a young enterprise, BenQ has a large strength gap with traditional large enterprises such as Siemens in Germany. In the process of merger, BenQ hopes to instill BenQ culture into Siemens' mobile phone business department, hoping to change the traditional management style and cultural concept of Siemens' mobile phone business department, and finally the merger fails. This has an important relationship with BenQ's failure to choose a suitable integration mode. Chinese enterprises' transnational mergers must choose the appropriate integration mode according to the strength level and respective wishes of both sides, so as to achieve mutual benefit, win-win results and harmonious symbiosis to the greatest extent.
3.3 the challenge of in-depth understanding of foreign laws and regulations and customs is another important issue for multinational companies to carry out cultural integration. In Europe, the strength of trade unions is extremely huge, and may even become a major factor affecting the development of enterprises. However, China's trade unions are not so strong. The first thing enterprises face in mergers is to have full legal literacy and awareness of rights, as well as the challenge of organizing trade unions to safeguard their rights. Therefore, enterprises must deeply understand foreign laws and regulations, especially labor law and social security law, so as to realize the non violation of laws and compliance with social customs, At the same time, actively fulfill social responsibilities and establish a good corporate image.
4 Conclusion
In short, a successful M & A can not be separated from effective cultural integration. If an enterprise wants to become a strong multinational enterprise, it must make the corporate culture highly inclusive and continuous, and must be able to avoid the conflict between cultures, so as to effectively reduce the conflict risk of corporate M & a culture. In order to effectively avoid cultural conflicts, enterprises need to pay more attention to the problem of cultural integration, establish a scientific concept of cultural integration, and choose a suitable cultural integration strategy according to the actual situation of enterprises, so as to form a good corporate culture integration mode. Realizing the integration of enterprise culture is conducive to promoting Chinese enterprises to better realize transnational mergers, realize the international operation of enterprises, and promote Chinese enterprises to become transnational and international large enterprises as soon as possible!