The Mergers and Acquisition Synergies Framework we developed includes measures from research on national culture by Geert Hofstede, Erin Meyer, and Sidney Gray. We used their data to show how cultural factors in cross-border mergers and acquisition can lead to success or failure. Our research is limited to national culture factors, yet as seen in a few instances above, corporate culture can be different from national culture. These differences can cause culture clashes of the

Just 14 months after the acquisition, HP wrote down 80 percent of Autonomy’s purchase price. Four years later, HP sold Autonomy for a fraction of what it paid to acquire the company. The differences in the accounting standards used by each company allowed Autonomy to recognize revenue in a more aggressive way. Ultimately, HP accused Autonomy of fraud. Accounting Methodology Accounting Standards. Generally, large merging companies hire auditors to provide a due diligence repo

Shortly after Hewlett-Packard appointed Leo Apotheker to lead the company, the board approved the acquisition of the UK-based software company, Autonomy. Hewlett-Packard, well known for its computer hardware, thought the synergies it could have with Autonomy coupled with its brand recognition would give it a strong presence in the software market. This series explores management’s cultural misstep using the Mergers and Acquisitions Synergies Framework to examine how this acqu