Managing cross-cultural mergers – the role of management style Case Air France – KLM by Katarzyna Janik

European Tourism Management 2003/2004 Master of Arts

Bournemouth University NHTV Breda Fachhochschule Heilbronn

Katarzyna Janik

European Tourism Management 2003/2004

I hereby declare that the dissertation submitted is wholly the work of Katarzyna Janik. Any other contributors or sources have been referenced in the prescribed manner or are listed in the acknowledgements together with the nature and scope of their contribution.

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Katarzyna Janik Abstract

European Tourism Management 2003/2004

The modern business environment is characterised by the growing number of international corporations full of desire to take advantage of the global marketplace. Many of those companies, instead of slow organic growth, choose a quicker way to expand their business – mergers and acquisitions. However, quicker not always means easier. Several research show that nearly 60 % of all mergers fail, frequently bringing companies from the top of the most successful firms’ list, to its bottom. Researchers attrib ute a considerable amount of this failures to the impacts of cultural differences. On 5 May 2004 Air France and KLM signed a first in the airline industry history cross-national merger agreement. The announcement of this merger evoked several sceptical opinions of culture researchers or consultants, who argue that due to cultural differences, this Franco – Dutch venture stands little chance of success. This study investigates the influence of culture on the outcome of mergers. Since literature emphasises the role the top management plays in the success or failure of a merger; the author, based on the literature review and case study research, tries to discover what kind of management style is essential for a company to survive a cross-boarder merger and to apply the findings to Air France – KLM case.

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Katarzyna Janik

European