Emotion skills in the workplace have recently risen to be a topic of interest in the Finnish media. Just this month YLE reported that empathy and interaction are crucial skills called for in recruitment. Similarly, Helsingin Sanomat stated that in the future emotion skills will be the key to professional success. But when and how do these skills appear in practice? One instance where they can play a major role is during organizational change – for example following a cross-border acquisition.
Recently, we looked at the role of dialogue in generating positive emotions during socio-cultural integration. We were interested in when and how dialogue could be used to ease the integration process – which is known for its potential to make or break the deal. Indeed, despite growing literature on the subject, acquisition success rates remain mediocre at best. Frequently problems arise with regard to human resources. Companies most often possess the skills and knowledge necessary to complete the tangible part of integration, as the work regarding, for example, information technology or financial systems has a clear beginning and end. But this is not the case with regard to human resources. Socio-cultural integration can seem like a daunting mess, where even the best laid plan is only as good as the uncertainty that characterizes the integration period allows.
Socio-cultural integration deals with forming a single whole from two previously separate organizations. Thus it includes changes to organizational structure and culture. Employees often react to such changes with protectionist attitudes, as fear of the unknown is somewhat hard-wired into the human brain. However, dialogue offers a way of suspending judgment and seeking common ground. In the organizational context dialogue means collaborative communication through both verbal and non-verbal means, aiming at creating a shared understanding. Through successful dialogue individuals’ values and beliefs can converge, thereby creating a strong basis for a joint organizational culture.
During socio-cultural integration there are three stages where dialogue can play a role. First, dialogue 
can help in choosing a suitable integration approach and making sure each acquisition partner has a similar view of what is best for the joint company. Second, dialogue can help implement change in offering a way to engage all employees. Allowing all employees to be personally involved in discussing what is to change, and how, enables them to feel ownership of the change. Such ownership can be turned into positive perceptions of the deal itself and motivation to make the deal a success, thus easing socio-cultural integration. Finally, dialogue can help in maintaining the status quo once it is reached. Although organizational cultures are relatively stable, sometimes revisiting the topic can help reinforce or – if necessary – change the fundamental beliefs held in the organization.
We examined this process in practice in a Finnish manufacturing company that had bought its German competitor. Instead of enforcing the Finnish culture on the Germans, they decided to form a wholly new, joint organizational culture based on new company values. We found that dialogue raised extremely positive emotions, which eased socio-cultural integration immensely. Through dialogue, management was better able to find common ground – in this case the common values that united the two companies. Similarly, employees were able to consider what the values meant in their daily working life, noticing the benefits of joint effort. In addition, employees were able to voice their opinions and emotions in a positive environment, but at the same time learn others’ opinions and realize the validity of other viewpoints. This helped the employees to see the organization as a whole. Overall, the positivity that was raised by dialogue outweighed the negative experiences of cultural differences.
Based on these findings, cultural conflict during socio-cultural integration can be overcome by creating positivity. However, creating positivity seems most successful when employees are engaged in the integration process. Thus, due to its collaborative and engaging nature, dialogue provides an especially effective means of communication for overcoming cross-cultural conflict. By offering a platform for creating social cohesion, dialogue also offers a way to manage emotions – thus enabling the creation of positivity. Ultimately, it seems that the key question of socio-cultural integration may not be how to neutralize negativity but how to create positivity. Dialogue offers one way of doing just that.
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Read the full article:
Harikkala-Laihinen, Riikka, Hassett, Mélanie, Raitis, Johanna & Nummela, Niina (2018) Dialogue as a source of positive emotions during cross-border post-acquisition socio-cultural integration, Cross Cultural and Strategic Management, http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/CCSM-09-2016-0163.
Emotions in the news:
Rinta-Tassi, Minna (2018) Töitä tarjolla: Empatiaan ja vuorovaikutukseen kykenevä saa paikan, YLE uutiset, https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-10020310, 15.1.2018
Salmi, Susanne (2018) Tulevaisuuden työelämässä menestyy se, jolla on hyvät tunnetaidot, sanoo psykologi – Näin kehität tunnetaitojasi, Helsingin Sanomat, https://www.hs.fi/hyvinvointi/art-2000005521510.html, 14.1.2018
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This research is part of the findings from the TEKES-funded Emotions in Mergers and Acquisitions project, which concluded in March 2017.
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