Center for Cross-Cultural Management
The Center for Cross-Cultural Management (CCM) studies the human aspect of international business and organizational change. We look at how multinational organizations and teams navigate complex cross-cultural interactions in internationalization processes, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships.
We view cross-cultural collaboration as an ongoing process of change and decision-making, in which cultural differences, managerial cognition, and national identity dynamics determine success when operating in international markets. Increasingly, these dynamics are also shaped by digitalization and emerging forms of human-AI collaboration, which are transforming how managers make decisions, coordinate, and build trust.
A politicized environment, cultural complexities, and digital disruptions are reshaping how companies engage in international business, sustain competitive advantage, and develop new markets. The strongly export-oriented Swiss SMEs and corporations are continuously adapting their internationalization strategies in response to these geo-cultural challenges. Cross-border partnerships — such as alliances, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions — alongside the international expansion of manufacturing and R&D activities, are gaining strategic importance.
At the Center for Cross-Cultural Management (CCM), we investigate internationalization processes and cross-border partnerships and show that their success relies not only on formal contracts and structures, but on cultural and identity processes, leadership dynamics, and the political environments in which they operate. Getting this right is what determines whether firms succeed or fail in international markets. These insights directly inform our CAS Leading Change in International Business, equipping managers to turn political shifts, cultural complexity, and digital disruption into business opportunities.
Our research draws on empirical studies across Latin America, Asia, and Europe — combining qualitative and quantitative methods to capture how internationalization processes unfold in practice. These insights inform everything we do, from teaching and research to executive education and advisory services, equipping managers for the complexities of international business.