Cultural awareness is an asset
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Cross-cultural awareness is an important element of M&A process, particularly in cases of acquisitions of the assets whose values are built on multiculturalism and diversity. Cultural awareness is not just a skill, it is a strategic asset playing a crucial role in post-merger integration. Does anyone have any real life examples to support this suggestion?
I was part of an integration where one company had a strong, long-standing heritage grounded in conservative values and a close-knit community culture (Mormons), while the other had a more modern, fast-paced, and informal way of working. Both companies had great people and shared the same end goals, but early on, we could feel the disconnect in how people communicated, made decisions, and even how they gave feedback.
It wasn’t about right or wrong—it was about awareness and respect. Simple things like meeting cadence, tone in emails, or who was expected to speak up in a room started to matter more than we realized. There were a few missteps early on where assumptions were made, and it created tension—not because anyone meant harm, but because there wasn’t enough time spent upfront understanding each other’s operating norms.I have been part of several integrations by my (conservative, US mid-west) company with smaller companies from the east and west coast. The assumption that all will go well, because at the end we speak the same technical language is a faulty one. The main hurdles faced (that should have been addressed at DD), were around governance, communication, reward system and overall style. Getting an integration map right at DD greatly improves the odd of a successful M&A.
From my experience, cultural awareness is not only key when thinking about cross-border transactions, but cultures can also be extremely different in the same country and industry.
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