The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic is an external shock that has disrupted the foundations of everyday life. For cosmopolitan entrepreneurs, the impact is even more decisive as it confronts their core values and jeopardises their identities, ways of working and the lifestyles they cherish. Cosmopolitans are individuals who identify themselves as citizens of the world and voluntarily move from country to country in pursuit of self-fulfilment in both life and work. Cosmopolitan entrepreneurs are future-oriented and open to the world and the opportunities it may provide. Beyond securing, maintaining and improving their professional and/or economic positions, their mobility is an elementary part of the cosmopolitan life itself, something they find attractive, interesting and stimulating. Thus, a cosmopolitan entrepreneur’s business is often non-location-bound to enable continued mobility. With our interview-based research, we shed light on how COVID-19 has changed the lives of Finnish-born cosmopolitan entrepreneurs, discussing what they feel about the changes and how they see their future.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how dialogue can be used to promote post-acquisition socio-cultural integration. Specifically, it addresses questions regarding when and how companies can utilise dialogue to generate positivity regarding socio-cultural integration. Design/methodology/approach A single case study approach was adopted owing to its suitability for creating in-depth understanding in the context of socio-cultural integration. Primary data were collected via interviews, an employee satisfaction survey, and participant observation. Secondary data were obtained from the case company’s internal materials, such as strategies, integration workflows, and employee magazines. Analysis methods included descriptive statistics and thematic qualitative analysis. Findings The findings suggest that dialogue can be used to create positivity regarding socio-cultural integration throughout the stages of unfreezing, moving, and refreezing by actively engaging employees in voicing, listening, respecting, and suspending. It is proposed that cultural conflict during post-acquisition socio-cultural integration can be overcome through the generation of positivity; dialogue enables the collective management of emotions during post-acquisition integration by offering a platform for creating positivity and social cohesion; and due to its collaborative and engaging nature, dialogue provides an especially effective means of communication for overcoming cross-cultural conflict. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to showcase dialogue as a specific means of communication for creating positivity during cross-border socio-cultural integration. This study reached beyond comparative cultural research to offer views on positivity, emotion during socio-cultural integration, and dialogue as means for overcoming cross-cultural conflict.

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It is something of a mystery as to why and how some international acquisitions succeed, and others fail to achieve their expected performance. Negative emotions in the workforce are suspected of playing an important role, but whether these are consequences or causes of underperformance remains obscure. This in depth case study research by Dr. Riikka Harikkala-Laihinen gives us some pointers that, for many of us, will chime with our experience. International acquisitions typically cut across cultural boundaries, but it is not these boundaries themselves that are the problem. It is the way that we, and management respond to them, to anticipate concerns. This is important because, it puts the ball back firmly in the court of management, and gives agency to the firm's leadership. Dr. Harikkala-Laihinen's analysis suggests that the key is positivity. This is not merely spin. Conviction by leaders, and action through, for example, training to engender inclusivity and positive emotional attitudes allays the natural fears of staff that eat away at their ability to work together across cultures and perform at their best. This individual and team level underperformance adds up to, not surprisingly, underperformance at the acquisition level. But, positivity, it is suggested, can turn outcomes around. This research is important both for the academic subject field of International Business, as it gets to the heart of questions that remain with us today, and are still unresolved. It is important for international management practice, precisely because it suggests something can be done, and that where there is a will, there is always a way. That, quite simply, is the power of positivity.

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