Attitudes towards Cultural Change in Post-M&A Integration: Integrating Theoretical Perspectives

The literature on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has accumulated a wide body of knowledge on the role of culture in post-M&A integration. Available research uses varied perspectives on culture and cultural change processes. Some define culture as a force shaping human action, others examine organisational members’ cultural perceptions. Yet others focus on management of cultural change, and some approach post-M&A cultural issues from the Social Identity Theory perspective. Each perspective offers valuable but different insights in post-M&A cultural processes. However, few studies today employ more than one. The goal of this paper is to integrate various theoretical perspectives on culture in M&A to arrive at a more holistic and informative framework. We do so in the context of exploring how organisational members form their attitudes about post-M&A cultural change....