A buyer should seek to understand the culture of the company it is buying and develop a plan to align this culture with its own. It should not automatically impose its culture on the acquired company, but instead should strive to carry over cultural aspects deemed important. Benefits such as free coffee or traditions such as “Employee of the Month” may be important to preserve; eliminating them may seem disrespectful. Sensitivity to regional cultures is also important. For example, Silicon Valley employees are much more resistant to employment contracts that include promises to stay on after a merger (“golden handcuffs”).[i]

As a tool, the acquirer may wish to use a cultural integration planning matrix, like the one featured in works by Timothy Galpin and Mark Herndon, simplified in the version shown in Exhibit 9-3.