Among the challenges that companies may face during the post M&A phase, cultural integration can be seen as one of the trickiest tasks. Cultural differences which are inevitable in any deal are always there. The link between how people from autonomous groups live together and the deal result is an interesting topic that needs to be investigated. Since we have an interest in developing the understanding of cultural differences during integration process in cross-border M&As, the research question “How do cultural differences arise in cross-border M&As during the integration process and do they impact the deal result?” is formulated. This thesis presents a model that demonstrates elements of cultural differences from three levels, national, organizational and personal. In this model, these levels can be seen as interrelated to each other in which the inner layer is impacted by the outer one. As a result, personal culture, as the most inner layer, is doubly impacted by the other two, national and organizational levels. Given that the scope of our thesis is for cross-border M&As, after investigating these three levels of culture, we found that organizational and personal differences are real in any M&As no matter domestic or cross-border deals. Differences at national level, on the contrary, are the first element that should be mentioned as a root of cultural differences in companies from different nationalities. From the understanding about emergence of cultural differences, we further study to see if they leave any effect on the deal result. In the empirical section, from the cultural gap analysis of each case, it was surprising to see that the relationship between cultural gap and deal result of two of four cases, are opposite to Rankine´s theory. At this point, we can see that M&As between companies similar in culture is not always successful or that failure between organizations having significantly different cultures is not always true, and then the empirical study on the acculturation dynamics made the further explanation that cultural differences are not the critical factor leading to success or failure, but rather how participants in integration perceive and respond to the cultural differences will impact the deal result.

Today, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is a fast growing economy, which is still in a developing phase. According to this fact, many Western companies are expanding and establishing in China nowadays. When expanding to foreign markets and foreign cultures, adapting to the local values is something which needs to be considered by foreign managers. A vital aspect is how to motivate the employees. The way employees want to be motivated may differ a lot from one country to another due to cultural differences. Since not much research has been performed on Swedish companies established in China and how they motivate their Chinese employees, this dissertation tries to fill that gap.The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the gap between Western management practices and motivation of Eastern employees. To find out if there are different needs and wants of employees in developing countries as opposed to developed ones. A deductive research approach is used in this dissertation.A two perspective study has been performed, qualitative case studies and a quantitative survey. On one side, Western managers views on how to motivate their Eastern employees as case studies. On the other side, a survey performed on a Chinese population and their view of important motivation factors. Some concepts were tested in order to investigate if the Western managers and the Chinese population have the same views on motivation and how to overcome cultural differences. First, results have shown that the “third culture” as a management tool will have an influence on employee motivation. Second, clear goals and rules will have an influence on employee motivation. However, the use of cooperative goals for Eastern employees was not confirmed to be useful, according to the results of this study. As a conclusion, the findings from this study indicate that there is a gap between Western managers and Eastern employees’ beliefs regarding motivation. However, to overcome cultural differences when operating in cross-cultural settings it is necessary to create a “third culture”. This study has strengthened the theory of the “third culture”.Analysis and conclusions from this dissertation may be of some value for Swedish managers. The value in this dissertation lies in that it can give a “hint” regarding motivation to managers of companies which operate in China. Some theories studied in this dissertation have not been confirmed. Therefore, managers should consider theories, but also try to adjust them in order to make them fit to their specific business.

Background Expatriate failure can be a devastating consequence for both an enterprise and the expatriate himself. An expatriate is a person who resides outside his native country for working purposes. Moving to a foreign country implies many challenges and problems. One of the challenges is the new culture. Culture shock and problems with the acculturation process can jeopardize the international assignment: adaptation problem for expatriates is one of the reasons for expatriate failure. Nevertheless, culture shocks can be provided against by preparing the expatriate for the new culture. Knowledge about the other culture will increase the expatriate’s cultural competence, and hence facilitate the adaptation process, which will provide against expatriate failure. Purpose The thrust of this Bachelor Thesis was to analyze which important cultural differences a Swedish expatriate can encounter in Spain on an international assignment. The aim was to establish a check-list for future Swedish expatriates who are going to Spain, in order increase their cultural competence. We approached the cultural differences from a Swedish expatriate’s point of view. Methodology A qualitative study was conducted. The empirical data was collected through five semi-structured interviews with Swedish expatriates that are, or have been, working in Spain. All the interviewees work at companies who operate within the high-tech business trade. A frame of reference was elaborated in order to interpret and analyze the results obtained from the empirical data. Conclusions We found relevant cultural differences for Swedish expatriates going to Spain within four cultural aspects. Organization: organizations in Spain are more hierarchical and the manager more authoritarian compared to Sweden. The purpose of meetings is to inform or make decisions, rather than discuss and decide by consensus. Long working days are normal, and efficiency is not highly prioritized. Small talk before meetings is used more extensively than in Sweden. Time: Spaniards perceive time as fluid, which leads to less rigid agendas and schedules. Punctuality is a minor issue since time is approximate. Communication: The culture is expressive. Spaniards are emotional in their way of communicating, which is classified as an expressive culture. Moreover, frequent interruptions are seen as commitment to, and engagement in, the conversation. Indirect language is preferred over the direct, the context is more important than the words used. Social life: Spaniards prefer to meet up outside. The Spaniard’s private zone is bigger and includes more persons, compared to the Swede’s. Furthermore, respect is only shown people the Spaniard knows and cares about.

Föreningsidrotten ökar men fortfarande är det många ungdomar som inte är tillräckligt fysiskt aktiva. Många undersökningar har gjorts angående motivation hos aktiva idrottare, men forskningen kring vad det är som motiverar ungdomar att börja idrotta är inte alls lika stor. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vilka motivationsfaktorer som skulle få ungdomar att börja idrotta och vad det är som hindrar dem, samt se vilka skillnader och likheter det fanns mellan svenska ungdomars och invandrarungdomars svar. Genom att undersöka vad som skulle få ungdomar att börja idrotta och vad det är som hindrar dem, skulle detta kunna hjälpa idrottsföreningar i hur de ska rekrytera nya medlemmar. Det är också viktigt att undersöka om det är någon skillnad mellan svenska ungdomars och invandrarungdomars motivationsfaktorer och hinder. Enskilda intervjuer gjordes med svenska ungdomar och invandrarungdomar från två olika skolor. Intervjuerna som spelades in på band transkriberades, för att sedan analyseras utifrån en hermeneutisk ansats. Teman i form av inre och yttre motivation, samt inre och yttre hinder togs fram, därefter skapades kategorier utifrån de motivationsfaktorer och hinder som var särskilt betydelsefulla för ungdomarna. Resultatet visade att de faktorer som skulle motivera ungdomarna att börja idrotta var socialt stöd, tidigare positiva erfarenheter av idrott, bättre hälsa, att det var roligt och att de hittade en idrott som passade dem. Det som hindrade dem var tidsbrist, låg grad av self-efficacy, prestationskrav, den sociala miljön, andra preferenser, att det inte var roligt och jobbigt idrotta, samt att de inte hade hittat någon passande idrott. Det kunde inte urskiljas några större skillnader mellan de svenska ungdomarna och invandrarungdomarna, men de svenska ungdomarna motiverades av både inre och yttre faktorer medan invandrarungdomarna endast motiverades av inre faktorer.

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att öka förståelsen för företags internationella etableringsstrategier och titta på vilka möjligheter och hinder som finns i etableringsprocessen. Metod: Uppsatsens forskningsstrategi har varit att göra en fallstudie på Kina och en surveyundersökning på svenska företag som idag är representerade på den kinesiska marknaden. Vidare kombinerar studien de två vetenskapliga angreppssätten kvalitativ och kvantitativ ansats. Både primärdata i form av surveyundersökningen och ett seminarium och sekundär data i form av olika litteratur såsom böcker, vetenskapliga artiklar och internet har använts för att knyta samman våra resultat. Resultat: Uppsatsen resulterar i att de största möjligheterna som finns för svenska företag på den kinesiska marknaden är att öka sin lönsamhet och sänka sina produktionskostnader. De största hindren är lagar och förordningar, kulturella skillnader, tullavgifter, skatter och piratkopiering. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of business-establishing strategies and to examine which opportunities and obstacles the process holds within. Method: The investigation strategy used for this essay was to perform a case study on China and a survey at Swedish companies which are currently represented in the Chinese market. The essay combines a qualitative and quantitative approach. Both primary data - in the form of a survey and a seminar - and secondary data - literature found in books, scientific articles and the internet - have been used to achieve our results. Results: The result of this essay is: the opportunities on the Chinese market for Swedish companies are to increase profitability and lower production costs. The biggest obstacles are laws and regulations, cultural differences, customs fees, taxes and bootlegging.

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka och inhämta information om den ryska och den tyska marknaden, både vad gäller lagar och restriktioner samt kulturskillnader, för att på så sätt få fram information som kan vara till nytta för svenska företag som funderar på att etablera sig på någon av dessa marknader. Metod: Studien är kvalitativ och resultat har erhållits genom en fallstudie av Ikea och de problem företaget upplevde vid etableringen i Ryssland och Tyskland. Intervjuer, såväl personligen som via mail, har genomförts med anställda inom Ikea i respektive land. Till detta har sekundärdata inom det valda området studerats och analyserats. Teoretiska perspektiv: Uppsatsens teoretiska syntes bygger på Porters sju etableringshinder, teorin om tariffära och icke-tariffära handelshinder och teorin om regional ekonomisk integration samt Hofstedes dimensionsmodell över nationella kulturer och teorin om hög- och lågkontextkulturer. Resultat: Resultaten av undersökningen visar bland annat att de konkreta handelshinderna, såsom statlig politik och höga tullar, upplevs vara de största svårigheterna vid en etablering på den ryska marknaden, medan kulturella skillnader ses som det största etableringshindret på den tyska marknaden. Detta beror på Tysklands EU-medlemskap, då EU i stort sett reducerat de konkreta handelshinderna mellan medlemsländerna. / Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and obtain information about the Russian and the German market regarding laws and restrictions as well as cultural differences, to elicit useful facts for those Swedish companies thinking about an establishment in both or one of these countries. Methodology: This thesis is based on a qualitative approach containing a case study of Ikea. Interviews with employees at the company in both Russia and Germany have been made, as well as a literature study within our study field. Theoretical perspectives: The frame of reference is based on the theory of Porter concerning trade barriers, the theory about tariff and non-tariff barriers as well as the one about regional economic integration. It also contains cultural theories, viz. Hofstede’s theory about national culture differences and the theory about high and low context cultures. Results: Our results show that trade barriers such as national politics and customs tariffs appear to cause the greatest problems when Swedish companies establish themselves on the Russian market, whereas cultural differences seem to be the most prominent barrier on the German market. The reason for this is the EU-membership of Germany, since EU has reduced most of the trade barriers between its members.

China as an Asian country has now an ever growing importance to the world economy and Sweden as a western country is having more and more collaboration in business with China. Due to the cultural differences between Sweden and China, managing relationships in B2B market has been challenging for Swedish companies doing business in China. Our study aims to find out what cultural differences are perceived by the Swedish companies and what adaptations they have made to the cultural differences so as to manage the business relationships. This study is based on the theories of Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s dimensions of human relations and Marx’s cultural shock triangle. Also we have referred to theories on Chinese relationships, Guanxi. We have used deductive method and conducted seven interviews, namely five with Swedish companies that have business in China and two people respectively from the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and the Regional Court in Kalmar of Sweden. We have come to the result that the Swedish companies are mainly challenged by the cultural differences such as the language difficulty, time orientation of Chinese and the personal approach in business relationships management. In this case the companies have made efforts to increase knowledge in the Chinese culture but also to establish local sales offices and carry out a joint venture with the Chinese business partners.

This thesis examines the experiences and perceptions that Aboriginal and white women have about abusive relationships and about the police responses to these situations. Differences and similarities between these two groups of women will further highlight the need for resources and policing which are sensitive to the different needs of both groups. Assessments of the cultural differences between Aboriginal and white inner city women are particularly important as women seek to develop more and better alternatives to living in abusive relationships.<p>Theoretically, an examination of gender oppression through patriarchy and its effect on male violence towards women is provided. Understanding the influence of patriarchal social relations on the subordination of women in society is helpful in explaining the similarities in perceptions and experiences of male violence between Aboriginal and white inner city women. The subculture of violence theory is also examined and is used to help understand the differences in perceptions and experiences of these two groups of women. The argument is made that Aboriginal women have qualitatively different perceptions of both battery and the police response to their calls of battery due to the historical legacy of colonization of Aboriginal people in Canada.<p>The data were gathered via a questionnaire and in-person interviews which asked women respondents a wide variety of questions pertaining to their perceptions and experiences with battery, and any police involvement. The questionnaires obtained background information about respondents, responses to a 5 point Likert scale of attitudinal statements pertaining to battery and policing, and responses to specific questions which requested written responses. <p>Analysis of the quantitative data involved descriptive presentation examining relationships between the independent variable ethnic background and dependent variables, as indicated by the 25 questionnaire items, using bivariate distributions. The qualitative data were thematically coded and examined.<p>Importantly, the study revealed that there are significant differences between the perceptions of Aboriginal and white inner-city women. Aboriginal women were found to much more tolerant of abuse from their male partners, and were less likely to call the police in a time of crisis. It was also found that many Aboriginal women had very negative experiences with the police which further disadvantaged them when dealing with battery situations.

We analyze experimental results obtained from the ultimatum game framed as a situation of salary negotiation. First, we frame ultimatum bargaining as a situation of salary negotiation. Second, we introduce a real task which has to be performed by employee-subjects as a consequence of accepting a given salary. We show that real effort raises salaries. In fact, this result is due to both higher salary offers by employers and higher rejection rates by employees. Besides, we study gender differences in individual decision making under uncertainty using the lottery panel test introduced in Sabater-Grande and Georgantzís (2002). Regarding risk aversion, our results confirm that female subjects are more risk averse than males. Regarding sensitivity to risk, female subjects are less attracted than men by the linear risk premia used in the design of the four panels. Our evidence suggests that gender and risk-related effects in ultimatum bargaining can and should be disentangled as two separate idiosyncratic dimensions. Specifically, although we confirm the broadly accepted result that females are more risk averse than males, we find that offers made by females are lower than those posted by male subjects. In fact, the gender effect becomes stronger once risk attitudes are accounted for. Gender effects are found to depend also on cultural differences. In sessions with Greek and Spanish subjects we obtain gender differences of the same sign and similar sizes, whereas British females' behavior differs from that of males only in the case of employee subjects and in the opposite direction to the gender effect reported on subjects from the two Mediterranean countries.

By the effects of globalization, countries become more and more integrated into each other, which in turn offer big opportunities to international corporations to make business across the borders. Game Outlet Europe AB, based in Karlstad, is one of them, which also operate internationally. It is the leading distributor in Europe for PC and console games in the low and mid price segments. This thesis is based on the issue of investigating whether or not Game Outlet’s current business concept called the “pallet concept”, would be feasible to apply in Poland. In order to answer that main question, we designed a problem statement with its underlying sub questions. In order to make good conclusions, we started to theoretically investigate the cultural differences and the consumer behaviour within Poland compared to Sweden.Poland is a country in change and has just recently joined the EU and has been targeted as an emerging market by western corporations. But before launching one’s business operations in a developing country, which has for example no tradition of learning the English language until recently and possessing a different history, one must consider the cultural differences and the difference of consumer behaviour.Our theoretical research shows that the Polish society in general has lower purchase power and weaker financial situation than Swedish society. Poland as an emerging market is considered by international companies to be a potential market, but those who seek potential will need to compare and contrast the prices so that they match the Polish people’s purchase power. However, an interesting observation that is in the interest of Game Outlet, are the Polish consumers’ willingness to pay for a classical and new released games. When compared to Swedish respondents, they are almost equally willing to pay for classical games. As we see it, Game Outlet has all the potential to achieve successful expansion. We also suggest a business model which should act as a recommendation for Game Outlet to consider. Most of the conclusions verify the strength and pros about Game Outlets business model, but some suggestions are new and created by ourselves.