Why do so many companies NOT see the value of Cultural Integration?

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #83785
    Gretchen Asher
    Participant

    Post Merger: I’ve seen so many companies acquire other companies and focus on the functional integration but they just don’t bother doing any work on the cultural integration piece. The assumption is that the target company will just adopt the culture of the acquiring company. Why is this the reality so much of the time? What have any of you done about getting the cultural integration on the radar of those leading the integration?

    #83858
    Abhijit Dutta
    Participant

    Like it or not, M&A deals are driven primarily by the financial metrics and if the numbers look attractive, there is an inclination to go ahead with the deal. The classic case in point is the merger of Daimler AG and Chrysler where the synergy benefits were never realized due to cultural mismatch. Culture must be a focus in efforts to integrate companies and this requires a mindset shift of the external advisors, management of target and parent companies. When left to itself, culture will often undermine value-creation.

    #83899
    Nicole Stuart
    Participant

    I agree that money is usually the primary driver for M&A deals. When looking to see if a company will take cultural needs into consideration during M&A, I think how they handle their current business is a good barometer. If the acquiring company’s culture ignores the needs of their existing staff, it is safe to assume they’ll take that mentality into the M&A deals.

    #109340
    Teresa Drew
    Participant

    While I see that money is the driver for the M&A, I think there is more awareness now that to retain the value of the acquisition, culture needs to be considered. That said, there seems to be a lack of understanding of just what cultural integration is. I tend to see the assumption that a ‘check for fit’ means culture is taken care of – that if the two firms are a ‘fit’ the cultures’ are close enough’. I think more discussion on defining culture and ensuring the whole acquisition team agrees on the definition is a good first step.

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

Are you sure you
want to log out?

In order to become a charterholder you need to complete one of the IMAA programs