Negotiating International Acquisitions
Practical Skills
Yadvinder Rana, International Strategy and Negotiation Consultant, Neglob
Science Commentary
Michael Morris, Chavkin-Chang Professor of Leadership
Abstract
The global economy demands that business leaders be adept at negotiating with counterparties from other cultures. Particularly with regard to sensitive topics such as foreign acquisition of iconic brands, negotiators have to work hard to overcome nationalist resistance and mistrust.
Increasingly in today's multipolar business world, foreign acquisitions can involve developing market firms acquiring Western firms or divisions thereof, such Lenovo's acquisition of IBM's PC division or Mittal's takeover of Arcelor. Leaders of developing market firms have had to persuade skeptical Western boards, labor groups and governments.
Our practice speaker, Yadvinder Rana, guides such firms through this delicate process. The session will look at a recent case of an Indian firm, Tata Motors, competing to acquire an iconic British firm, Jaguar / Land Rover, in 2009, to analyze how Tata handled negotiations as well post-acquisition integration and subsequent expansions into developing markets. Through case analysis and role play we will consider how the firm's structure, record, and negotiation and management practices aided their success.
Our research speaker, Michael Morris, will talk about the literature on success drivers in inter-cultural negotiations and collaborations, including cultural intelligence, affective trust, and perspective taking.
Research References
Chen, X.-P., Liu, D., & Portnoy, R. (2012). A multilevel investigation of motivational cultural intelligence, organizational diversity climate, and cultural sales: Evidence from U.S. real estate firms. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(1), 93-106.
Chua, R., Morris, M. W., Mor, S. (2012). Collaborating across cultures: Cultural metacognition & affect-based trust in creative collaboration. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, doi: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2012.03.00.
