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Introduction
Over the past two decades mergers have become a global phenomenon and a popular strategic choice for companies' growth and expansion ([71] Seth et al. , 2000; [10] Buckley and Ghauri, 2002; [72] Shimizu et al. , 2004). [74] The Economist (1999) reported that companies are joining together as never before. A number of scholars argue that mergers and acquisitions of companies are a common and important response to globalisation and the changing market environment ([78] Weber, 1996; [2] Ashkenas et al. , 1998; [3] Boateng and Bjørtuft, 2003). Despite the increasing popularity of mergers and acquisitions, it has been reported that, more than two-thirds of large merger deals fail to create value for shareholders in the medium term ([62] Ravenscraft and Scherer, 1989). [62] Ravenscraft and Scherer (1989) found that the profitability of target companies, on average declines after an acquisition. The propensity for mergers and acquisitions' (M&A) failure to meet the anticipated goals is corroborated by [28] Erez-Rein et al. (2004) and [14] Carleton (1997) who noted that the rate of mergers and acquisitions failure range from 55 to 70 percent.
While a number of studies are quick to point out that, lack of strategic fit and poor management of the integrative process appear to be the main causes of unsatisfactory performance, it is pertinent to point out that this explanation appears too general and fails to capture fully what constitutes poor management. For example, [22] Chatterjee et al. (1992) suggested that there is no clear evidence rendering support for the value of strategic fit in M&As.
Prior literature indicates that there has been intense interest in examining human and cultural aspects of M&As as traditional explanations have not adequately explained the high rate of failures of M&As. Researchers such as [32] Fralicx and Bolster (1997), [17] Cartwright and Cooper (1993), [23] Daniel and Metcalf (2001), and [29] Evans and Mendenhall (2004) support this line of reasoning and suggest that incompatible cultures are the main causes of M&As failure. While it is acknowledged that lack of cultural fit is an important factor in M&As' failure relatively few studies have investigated the role of culture and its integration in M&As process. Moreover, studies on the impact of cultural differences on M&As' performance have...