Post-Acquisition Organizational Culture Integration:A Systematic Literature Review

  • Authors

    • Syahrial Maulana Department of School of Business, Faculty of Business, IPB University Jl. Raya Pajajaran, Bogor, Jawa Barat 16127, Indonesia
    • Popong Nurhayati Department of School of Business, Faculty of Business, IPB University Jl. Raya Pajajaran, Bogor, Jawa Barat 16127, Indonesia
    • Ujang Sumarwan Department of School of Business, Faculty of Business, IPB University Jl. Raya Pajajaran, Bogor, Jawa Barat 16127, Indonesia
    • Anggraini Sukmawati Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, IPB University, Dramaga, Kabupaten Bogor, Jawa Barat 16680, ‎Indonesia
    https://doi.org/10.14419/4mcmvk50

    Received date: June 14, 2025

    Accepted date: July 23, 2025

    Published date: July 27, 2025

  • Cultural Integration; Management; Merger and Acquisition; Organizational Culture; Post-acquisition

  • Abstract

    Scientific interest in mergers and acquisitions by multinational firms from various countries is growing. High merger and acquisition ‎failures attributed to a lack of integration management remain an interesting topic at this point. It has been identified that most mergers and ‎acquisitions fail, and some researchers point to cultural integration as one of the main contributing reasons. The paper intends to critically ‎evaluate previous research on the impact of post-acquisition organizational culture on industry and develop a research agenda. Based on the ‎Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, a systematic review of the literature was ‎conducted. After a search in the databases ProQuest, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Emerald, Scopus, and Manual Search, applying ‎inclusion and exclusion criteria, 24 articles in English, published between the years 2017 and 2022, remained in the final analysis. The ‎results allowed for the evidence of the methodologies, main themes, and theories used in cultural integration management. The search is limited to ‎the 2017–2022 period to get the latest trends in post-acquisition organizational culture integration. Through a conceptual framework, this ‎review aims to bring disparate viewpoints on the integration of corporate culture following acquisition together.

  • References

    1. Ahsan FM, Popli M & Kumar V (2024), Formal institutions and cross-border mergers and acquisitions: a systematic literature review and research agenda. International Business Review 33(5), 102306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2024.102306.
    2. Assoratgoon W & Kantabutra S (2023), Toward a sustainability organizational culture model. Journal of Cleaner Production 400, 136666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136666.
    3. Batten J & Brackett A (2021), Ensuring rigor in systematic reviews: part 5, quality appraisal, data extraction, synthesis. Heart & Lung 50(5), 615–617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrtlng.2021.04.002.
    4. Bauer, F., Raswant, A., & Sarkar, M. a. H. (2024). Organizational capital and international acquisitions. Journal of Business Research, 189, 115011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115011.
    5. Buckley PJ, Cui L, Chen L, Li Y & Choi Y (2022), Following their predecessors’ journey? A review of EMNE studies and avenues for interdisci-plinary inquiry. Journal of World Business 58(2), 101422 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2022.101422.
    6. Chen Q, Xu S, Liu R & Jiang Q (2023), Exploring the discrepancy between projected and perceived destination images: a cross-cultural and sus-tainable analysis using LDA modeling. Sustainability 15(12), 9296. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129296.
    7. Diduc S (2022), Integration team members’ approaches to uncertainty management in M&A. European Management Journal 40(6), 917–931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2022.10.002.
    8. Dwivedi YK, Kshetri N, Hughes L, Slade EL, Jeyaraj A, Kar AK, Baabdullah AM, Koohang A, Raghavan V, Ahuja M, Albanna H, Albashrawi MA, Al-Busaidi AS, Balakrishnan J, Barlette Y, Basu S, Bose I, Brooks L, Buhalis D, Wright R (2023), Opinion paper: “So what if ChatGPT wrote it?” multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges and implications of generative conversational AI for research, practice and policy. International Journal of Information Management 71, 102642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102642.
    9. Ebina T, Kumakura Y & Nishide K (2022), Hostile takeovers or friendly mergers? Real options analysis. Journal of Corporate Finance 77, 102292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2022.102292.
    10. Gautam PK (2022), Organizational culture integration initiation in merger and acquisition, changing work culture and employees’ work behavior. The Batuk 8(1), 16–30. https://doi.org/10.3126/batuk.v8i1.43507.
    11. Guo W (2025), Conflict resolution in intercultural communication: strategies for managing cultural conflicts. Humanities and Social Sciences Com-munications 12(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04391-0.
    12. Gusenbauer M & Gauster SP (2024), How to search for literature in systematic reviews and meta-analyses: a comprehensive step-by-step guide. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 212, 123833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123833.
    13. Kirby A (2023), Exploratory bibliometrics: using VOSViewer as a preliminary research tool. Publications 11(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications11010010.
    14. Leso BH, Cortimiglia MN & Ghezzi A (2022), The contribution of organizational culture, structure, and leadership factors in the digital transfor-mation of SMEs: a mixed-methods approach. Cognition Technology & Work 25(1), 151–179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-022-00714-2.
    15. Lim WM, Kumar S & Ali F (2022), Advancing knowledge through literature reviews: ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how to contribute.’ Service Industries Journal 42(7–8), 481–513. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2022.2047941.
    16. Lugner M, Gudbjörnsdottir S, Sattar N, Svensson A, Miftaraj M, Eeg-Olofsson K, Eliasson B & Franzén S (2021), Comparison between data-driven clusters and models based on clinical features to predict outcomes in type 2 diabetes: nationwide observational study. Diabetologia 64(9), 1973–1981. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-021-05485-5.
    17. Meglio O & Schriber S (2023), Towards a more inclusive notion of values in acquisition research. Long Range Planning 56(6), 102331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2023.102331.
    18. Ponomareva Y, Uman T, Bodolica V & Wennberg K (2022), Cultural diversity in top management teams: review and agenda for future research. Journal of World Business 57(4), 101328 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2022.101328.
    19. Reed M-F, Martin-Ortega J, Blanche R, Lawford-Rolfe R, Dallimer M & Holden J (2021), Evaluating impact from research: a methodological framework. Research Policy 50(4), 104147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2020.104147.
    20. Sam DL (2024), 50+ years of psychological acculturation research: progress and challenges. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 103, 102076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2024.102076.
    21. Siddiqi KAJ & Jamal AZ (2024), Organizational culture and its effect on employee motivation. Journal for Research in Applied Sciences and Bio-technology 3(3), 249–252. https://doi.org/10.55544/jrasb.3.3.38.
    22. Smeulders D, Dekker HC & Van Den Abbeele A (2023), Post-acquisition integration: managing cultural differences and employee resistance using integration controls. Accounting Organizations and Society 107, 101427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2022.101427.
    23. Teerikangas S & Colman HL (2019), Theorizing in the qualitative study of mergers & acquisitions. Scandinavian Journal of Management 36(1), 101090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2019.101090.
    24. Tuladhar A, Devkota N, Danuwar RK, Kayestha M, Dangol AS, Dhakal A, Tiwari DR, Timalsina DP & Koirala A (2024), Examining the impact of merger and acquisition perception on customer loyalty in the banking sector: evidence from structural equation modeling. Journal of Business and Management 8(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.3126/jbm.v8i1.72117.
    25. Ullah F, Shen L & Shah SHH (2023), Value co-creation in business-to-business context: a bibliometric analysis using HistCite and VOS viewer. Frontiers in Psychology 13, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1027775.
    26. Wiese LJ, Patil I, Schiff DS & Magana AJ (2025), AI ethics education: a systematic literature review. Computers and Education Artificial Intelli-gence, 100405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2025.100405.
    27. Wu J, Wang D & Morschett D (2023), Light touch goes where? A longitudinal study of the post-acquisition integration paths adopted by Chinese multinational enterprises. Journal of International Management 29(5), 101063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2023.101063.
    28. Zaman R (2023), When corporate culture matters: the case of stakeholder violations. The British Accounting Review 56(1), 101188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2023.101188.

  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    Maulana, S. ., Nurhayati , P. ., Sumarwan , U. ., & Sukmawati, A. . (2025). Post-Acquisition Organizational Culture Integration:A Systematic Literature Review. International Journal of Accounting and Economics Studies, 12(3), 283-291. https://doi.org/10.14419/4mcmvk50