Your company's culture is what defines it. Small startup or large corporation, it's the set of values and attitudes that bind your employees together. So what happens to that identity when another company buys you out? Mergers and acquisitions can cause fear and confusion, usually leaving questions about the impact on corporate culture low down on the list of priorities.
Under a deadline to push a deal through, business leaders don't usually sit down to discuss how to head off a culture clash. That's a task that takes time, planning, and effort few seem willing or able to spend time on, but it's a process that can make the integration that follows either much more seamless or difficult to execute as a result.
