1. ¹San José State University, San Jose, USA
2. ²INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France
3. ³Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, USA

Correspondence: MY Brannen, Lucas Graduate School of Business, San José State University, One Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192-0070, USA. Tel: +1 408 924 3580; Fax: +1 408 924 3555; E-mails: mary-yoko.brannen@insead.edu, brannen_m@cob.sjsu.edu

Received 30 August 2004; Revised 21 March 2008; Accepted 25 March 2008; Published online 30 October 2008.

Abstract

Foreign direct investment, particularly cross-border mergers and acquisitions can spawn a range of individual-level outcomes from cross-cultural adjustment and synergistic learning, on the positive side, to work alienation, on the negative. Unsuccessful navigation of these individual-level outcomes leads to failed integration that can seriously affect the realization of desired organizational outcomes such as successful technology transfer, knowledge-sharing, and the general realization of global growth. By means of an iterative between-methods triangulation, the study surfaces cross-cultural work alienation as a phenomenon that can limit the overall success of such ventures, and identifies interventions that help to promote successful post-merger integration.