Renault-Nissan alliance on a daily basis : co-operation and cultural integration of the teams

Renault and Nissan formed an alliance more than ten years ago which aimed to improve their competitiveness and market presence. An alliance was deemed preferable to a merger. It was seen as a way of profiting from the strengths of both companies while, at the same time, preserving their industrial, commercial and organisationally distinctive identities, in order to combine both the models and the sets of tools while preserving each company's culture. On a daily basis, how does one reconcile integration with independence, and change with status quo ? Every year, student chairs of the Renault-École polytechnique-HEC programme study the nature of the co-operation which exists between the teams of the two manufacturers. This analysis highlights the work carried out at all levels in the companies in order to link the processes and find common ground. It seems to be a slow approach to cultural integration.