Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are often driven by strategic growth ambitions, cost synergies, and market expansion. However, while financials and operations are scrutinized extensively, cultural integration frequently remains an afterthought. This oversight can result in failed deals, high turnover rates, and diminished value creation. To understand why culture is often overlooked and how dealmakers can better manage it, we spoke with Koen van Gulck, an expert in M&A culture integration.
Koen van Gulck from The School of Strategy has spent 30 years as a manager, managing director and CEO, navigating the intricate balance between strategy and culture. His experience, especially in mergers and acquisitions, has shown him how crucial these elements are.
“A significant number of failed acquisitions are the result of cultural misalignment.”
“Research consistently shows that cultural alignment significantly impacts post-merger success”, he explains. While companies focus on financial synergies, they often neglect cultural integration, leading to employee uncertainty and talent loss. Harvard Business Review estimates that between 70 percent and 90 percent of mergers and acquisitions fail and emphasizes that cultural integration problems are a significant factor in the failure of M&A deals.
“While strategy engages my intellect, culture aligns more with my heart and intuition.”
Many mergers and acquisitions fail due to cultural mismatches, and Koen van Gulck has seen firsthand how strategy and culture must go hand in hand.
His realization deepened after taking a course at Strategy Inc., where, for the first time, strategy training also emphasized company culture. “The course deeply resonated with me”, says Van Gulck. “I realized that while strategy engages my intellect, culture aligns more with my heart and intuition. I reached a point where I wanted to balance knowledge and experience with a more instinctive, purpose-driven approach. And not as a soft, fluffy side-topic, but as a core driver of business success.”
This balance between logic and instinct led him to establish the School of Strategy to equip SME leaders with the tools to develop and sustain their own business strategies without relying on expensive consultants.
Culture plays such a vital role that Van Gulck partnered with the Maslow Research Center to integrate it into strategic planning.
However, a recent shift means Maslow will soon be absorbed into Strategy Inc., and its brand name will gradually be absorbed into Strategy Inc., but the people and the service will remain the same.
“Rather than asking if employees are engaged, businesses should be questioning whether their leaders are engaged.”
The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just disrupt businesses – it changed the way employees relate to their work.
A study by the Maslow Research Center shows how employees have reevaluated their priorities in recent years, especially during the Covid-19 period. People realized that whether they gave their all or did the bare minimum, their paycheck still arrived. Office closures and fewer in-person interactions led to a subtle detachment from work, with many employees opting for part-time schedules.
Now, the real challenge lies in how companies and leaders adapt. “Companies should be changing their culture, but many haven’t done so yet”, says Koen van Gulck. “Employee engagement is no longer just about workers feeling connected to their jobs – it’s about leadership involvement”, he emphasizes. “Rather than asking if employees are engaged, businesses should be questioning whether their leaders are committed to the real needs of their teams.”
“This shift is particularly crucial during major transitions like mergers, acquisitions, or leadership changes, where a failure to recognize and adapt to new workplace dynamics can lead to disengagement and lost talent”, according to Van Gulck.
“Managers haven’t necessarily become worse – it’s that the world has changed, and we haven’t adapted yet.”
Mergers and acquisitions often focus on financial projections, but neglecting cultural integration can be a costly mistake. “Organizations that prioritize cultural integration and team alignment during M&A are 70 percent more likely to achieve their revenue targets and 40 percent more likely to reach their cost synergy goals”, says Van Gulck, citing a recent McKinsey report.
Yet, too often, many companies still choose the opposite approach – focusing on numbers first and only addressing cultural issues when synergies fail to materialize. “If you address culture and leadership engagement from the start, you can accelerate financial performance post-merger and therefore ROI”, he emphasizes.
To support this, Van Gulck uses the Culture-Actualization-Index©, a tool that identifies cultural risks before they become major roadblocks. Using heatmaps and the Maslow Index, leaders can visually pinpoint problem areas within the newly acquired company, allowing them to act proactively rather than reactively.
By using this tool, managers will know exactly where they should focus first to gain the trust of new employees and achieve results more quickly.
“Companies that cultivate a strong culture see up to 20 percent higher customer retention post-merger.”
One of the biggest cultural risks in M&A is leadership itself. “Managers haven’t necessarily become worse – it’s that the world has changed, and we haven’t adapted, yet”, Van Gulck explains. “Structural elements like technology and salaries are easier to fix, but poor leadership skills – such as ineffective feedback, lack of inclusivity, or weak coaching – are much harder to detect. It takes a long time for them to surface and as a result you lose crucial time to work on what really counts, your initial M&A goals.”
That’s why he advocates equipping leaders with essential skills, from fostering trust and engagement to mentoring junior employees. These factors directly impact burnout rates, productivity, and even customer retention.
“Despite an increasing number of well-intentioned initiatives, engagement has never been so low”, he notes, referring to an international report on employee engagement. ”In that context, companies that cultivate a strong culture can not only retain their key employees, but also experience up to a 20 percent higher customer retention after the merger.”
"20,000 euros for a culture survey and accompanying leadership training is a small price to pay to prevent failure.”
For many companies, realizing they’ve overlooked cultural integration can be a tough pill to swallow. “You need an open-minded manager to admit that leadership skills need improvement and to take action”, says Koen van Gulck.
“Resistance is common, but mergers and acquisitions offer a unique opportunity. New leadership can address past problems and implement necessary changes.” These insights are not about pointing fingers at past leaders, but about initiating conversations about improvement. It's about using the momentum in a positive way.
However, this window is short. “After about nine months, they own the responsibility as well”, Van Gulck explains. While presenting cultural assessments outside of M&A can be confrontational, anonymous feedback often highlights underperforming departments, which can feel personal to some managers. “The goal isn’t to target anyone but to figure out how to support them and retain as many people as possible”, Van Gulck says.
“Buyers in acquisitions, whether they are corporates or private equity firms, want to minimize risk – these deals involve substantial money, so investing an additional 20,000 euros in a culture survey and accompanying leadership training is a small price to pay to avoid failure.”
“Many managers see themselves as leaders, but lack coaching skills.”
While Koen van Gulck hesitates to label his assessment as a ‘cultural due diligence’ tool, he acknowledges its role in minimizing employee-related risks – an often-overlooked factor in M&A.
He recalls a case where an acquiring company failed to engage key employees, leading to the departure of two critical team members and the loss of 20 percent of revenue. “These are the kinds of risks our assessment helps mitigate.”
The scientific research of the Maslow Research Center highlights 26 core employee needs, with direct leadership playing a central role. “Many managers see themselves as leaders, but lack coaching skills. True leadership includes mentorship, guidance, and inclusive decision-making.”
Another key issue is job security – leaders must communicate a clear vision of the future so employees feel included rather than alienated. The ‘What's in it for me’ is crucial for all employees after an acquisition and must be answered as quickly as possible.
Rather than focusing on one-time workshops, Van Gulck advocates for ongoing, one-on-one coaching to create lasting behavior change. Coaching helps leaders shift from simply giving answers to asking the right questions, encouraging problem-solving and reflection within their teams.
“Companies that truly understand and address employee needs will gain a lasting competitive edge.”
Koen van Gulck underscores that in today’s business landscape, culture management is just as vital as financial and legal considerations. “Historically, companies thrived by excelling in production and revenue generation. Then, the focus shifted to market dominance and customer acquisition. Later, talent and employee engagement became key priorities”, he explains.
Now, long-term success depends on mastering all three: efficient production, strong customer relationships, and a motivated workforce. Companies that truly understand and address employee needs – just as they do with customers – will gain a lasting competitive edge.
“More managers should be asking, ‘How much FUN is there in your FUNction?’”, Van Gulck says. He firmly believes that workplace culture and employee well-being aren’t just HR concerns; they’re critical business drivers. “Culture is the only true long-term competitive advantage – one that companies can fully control but often underestimate.”
This is especially true in mergers and acquisitions, where neglecting cultural integration can lead to disengagement, high turnover, and underperformance. “The organizations that truly grasp this will be the ones leading the way in the years ahead”, Van Gulck concludes.
Koen van Gulck
[email protected]
+32 469 194 184
Book a call: https://calendly.com/koen-vangulck-maslowresearch/45min
