A case study research of Walmart's acquisition in Germany and Japan.

Abstract

This paper compares the cross-border mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) of Walmart, a United States (“U.S.”) based company in Germany and Japan. We observed the difference in the M&A outcomes when Walmart, a company with a shareholder-oriented system, tried to integrate their system in Germany and Japan, two traditionally stakeholder-oriented economies. We observed how Walmart‟s different degrees of compliance with local norms affect its outcomes in its acquisitions in Germany and Japan. We analyzed how the state, businesses and labor unions interacted with one another to shape the corporate governance systems in the companies, which eventually affected the cross-border M&A practices.