Ali R. Malekzadeh

Successful Mergers through Acculturation

Although the merger mania of the 1980s has somewhat subsided, and the 1990s are likely to see fewer mergers and acquisitions, buying other companies continues to be one of the most popular strategic moves. The many failed mergers and take-overs, and the ensuing turnover of many top executives in the acquired firms (Walsh 1988), have demonstrated that even extensive planning and careful implementation are not a guarantee of the success of such a strategy. As many of the financial models of mergers have proved ineffective in dealing with the actual management of mergers, some researchers are calling for focus on the contextual and decisional aspects of a merger (Hunt 1990; Trautwein 1990). Others are finding that the sociocultural aspects, and processes involved in the merging of two companies that treat them as human and cultural entities, are the key to the success of a merger (Buono and Bowditch 1989; Nahavandi and Malekzadeh 1988; Sales and Mirvis 1984; Shrivastava 1986).