Given its impact on employee and company performance, corporate culture should be a primary consideration for all organisations – particularly those pursuing a merger or acquisition. Historically, however, companies have paid insufficient attention to cultural compatibility during M&A. According to a Hay Group study, only 27 percent of business leaders analysed the potential cultural harmony of the merging firms. Some acquirers simply swallow the target and impose their culture upon it; others try to maintain its cultural integrity, especially if this made the target an attractive proposition in the first instance.