Mergers and acquisitions in Poland : A comparison of general management perceptions from Germany, the United Kingdom and Poland

Key words: culture, ethnic oppositions, EU enlargement, managerial oppositions, transaction costs. The study examines managerial perceptions between German and Polish managers, and between British and Polish managers. It is a multidisciplinary study for which the theoretical underpinning comes from the theory of International Business, Cross-cultural Management, European Integration, Social Anthropology, and Anthropology of Ethnicity. The research is based on empirical data collected during face-to-face semi-structured interviews with the general managers in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Poland. The method of analysis applied is based on the interpretive approach, and uses managerial perceptions as a tool of the analysis. The current study identifies and explains differences and similarities in perceptions between German and Polish, and between British and Polish managers. The analysis is conducted within a theoretical framework bringing together international business, economics, and social anthropological ideas concerning ethnicity. The results of the current study suggest that national perceptions constructed by the managers in foreign invested companies (i.e., both from the investor and invested side) are mirrored in their corporate perceptions pertaining to working together with a foreign partner. The implications of differences in perceptions and their origins for the inter-cultural interaction between the representatives of German and Polish culture, and British and Polish culture in cross-border M&As are explored. In this context it is also argued that managerial perceptions can be factors promoting and restricting the effectiveness of economic integration between the EU Member States and Poland. These issues mediated by individuals in business organisations have relevance to the shaping of the competition policy.