Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine why culture is the cause of such widespread failure in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and explore ways to improve their success rate. Design/methodology/approach – Review of some prominent “failed” mergers for evidence of the influence of cultural factors. Findings – It was found that M&A tended to be more successful where cultural factors were made a priority early in the process and where transparent and two-sided dialogue about culture took place up and down both organizations. Originality/value – Although the impact of culture in M&A is a topic that has been covered before, this review identifies some new approaches to improving M&A success rates.
Peter Buell Hirsch (Tue,) studied this question.