CBF © Study A French transportation company signed a partnership agreement with an American counterpart. Since then the alliance was extended to include a Korean and Mexican company. Each of the partners had previous experience of partnerships which were considered unsatisfactory. The French and American companies expressed interest in taking a proactive approach in preparing all the actors (200) to work together effectively. The leaders of the two companies also wanted to know how the alliance was perceived in their respective companies. Since the alliance was then in a "honeymoon" phase, it was the moment to prepare for the day when the "honeymoon" would be over.     It was clear that the cultural difficulties which were being experienced were not necessarily linked to nationality, but to differences in corporate cultures. A Culture Bridging Fundamentals © analysis of the two major corporate cultures underlined the shared values as well as the gaps between the partner companies. This knowledge allowed the management of the alliance to better anticipate points of friction and to negotiate a more productive implementation of the working groups.   Back