Corporate global culture as competitive advantage: learning from Germany and Japan in Alabama and Austria?

Gerhard Apfelthaler, Helen J. Muller and Robert R. Rehder

Journal of World Business, 2002, vol. 37, issue 2, 108-118

Abstract: As cross-border corporate mergers and acquisitions find organizations outgrowing their cultural boundaries, transnational companies may try to capture the strengths of the best talent and technology that cultures offer. The Daimler Chrysler (DC) transatlantic merger foreshadows how industrial corporations may change 21st century work relationships and it raises questions about the complexities of cross-cultural collaboration to achieve competitive advantage. We analyze the cultural components of Mercedes-Benz's experiment that developed the award winning M-Class sports utility vehicle, initiated before the merger, originating in a "learning field" managerial philosophy. Originally manufactured in Alabama and soon extended to Austria, the M-Class, unexpectedly, became an early point of possible joint learning for DC but to date is a missed opportunity to further learn how to draw upon culture to enhance competitive advantage.

Date: 2002
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