Overview
Culture in M&A
Part 1: Why culture?
Culture is a shared, dynamic system of values and behaviours. Many organisations struggle to define their own culture due to its intangible nature and lack of a common language. The gap between stated and lived values is particularly critical in M&A, where compatibility must be assessed early.
The first installment of the four-part Culture in M&A series explores why culture is a strategic imperative in M&A. Often dismissed as a 'soft issue', culture is in fact a powerful force that shapes organisational behaviour, leadership alignment, and change readiness, making it a key determinant of deal success.
With studies showing that up to 90% of M&A deals fail to meet expectations — often due to cultural issues — this article explores how organisational and broader cultural dynamics shape M&A outcomes, why cultural misalignment is a leading cause of deal failure, and how M&A leaders can proactively address culture to unlock real value.
The Culture in M&A series is a collaboration by Grant Thornton Singapore and ODE Consulting.
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Roch Tay heads up the Deals Advisory practice in Grant Thornton Singapore. He has more than 25 years of experience in providing management, financial advisory and human resource consulting services to global and local corporations, as well as private equity houses. He is experienced in advising senior leaders on their organisation transformations, organisation culture re-alignments, people-related considerations in their acquisitions and divestitures, as well as their post-merger integrations strategy development, planning and execution.
Dr Kavita Sethi, co-author of this series, is the Principal Consultant of ODE Consulting® and Global Master Certifier for Culture In The Workplace™. With over 40 years experience, her areas of specialisation include strategy, leadership, cross culture and the design & implementation of competency frameworks. She has designed and facilitated learning, coaching and consulting solutions for large multinationals and local conglomerates.
Read more from the Culture in M&A series
Culture in M&A: Part 2
Mergers and acquisitionsIn the second of our four-part series, we delve into the critical necessity of thoroughly assessing cultural compatibility from the early stages of the M&A lifecycle, commencing even before the deal’s finalisation.
Culture in M&A: Part 3
Mergers and acquisitionsIn the third of our four-part series, we draw on proven frameworks and diagnostic tools like Hofstede’s Culture in the Workplace™ questionnaire, culture heatmaps, and pulse surveys, to track, measure, and course-correct cultural integration.
Culture in M&A: Part 4
Mergers and acquisitionsIn the final part of our Culture in M&A series, we introduce a simplified culture assessment tool Hofstede Culture in the Workplace Questionnaire™ (Hofstede CWQ), which helps dealmakers and integration teams translate abstract culture into concrete, measurable insights.