Quand la culture fait ou défait une fusion : l’exemple de DaimlerChrysler

IIn 1998, Daimler-Benz and Chrysler announced a “merger of equals” meant to create a global automotive giant. On paper, everything was in place: industrial synergies, economies of scale, complementary product lines. Yet within a decade, the alliance collapsed. Why?
Because a merger of balance sheets was not matched by a merger of cultures.

Cultural collision in daily behaviors

German engineers prized rigor and processes. American teams valued speed and pragmatic innovation. The result: mistrust, misunderstandings, and loss of efficiency.
Culture is not revealed in slogans, but in everyday practices:

  • How are decisions made?
  • What place is given to individual initiative?
  • How is hierarchy experienced in daily interactions?

In mergers, these micro-behaviors often weigh more heavily than organizational charts.

Teaching teams to navigate two cultures

A merger is the meeting of worlds. Leaders often forget that teams must learn to decipher each other’s implicit codes:

  • Hierarchy, communication, decision-making pace.
  • Practicing the temporary adoption of the other organization’s practices.

Without this work, everyone continues to play by their own rules, and cooperation remains superficial.

Embedding culture at every level

As Gerry Johnson’s Cultural Web shows, culture permeates the entire organizational system:

  • The stories we tell (successes, failures).
  • Rituals and routines (meetings, collaboration styles).
  • Symbols (language, dress codes, office layouts).
  • Power structures (who decides vs. who influences).
  • Control systems (how performance is measured).

In a merger, ignoring these dimensions is like putting two logos on the same building without changing what is experienced inside.

Co-constructing a common target culture

A successful merger is not about imposing one culture over the other, but about building a shared identity:

  • Identify the strengths of each (e.g. German rigor, American agility).
  • Formalize a target culture that integrates complementary assets.
  • Support adoption through rituals, training, and exemplary leadership.

Culture then becomes a collective project, not a forced compromise.

What leaders can learn

DaimlerChrysler’s failure illustrates a critical lesson: in M&A, culture is either the primary catalyst or the primary obstacle.
Three practical keys for any Executive Committee:

  • Map cultural differences in terms of observable behaviors.
  • Equip teams to navigate both systems, instead of leaving them to improvise.
  • Build a common target culture by leveraging the strengths of each organization and actively supporting adoption.

In mergers and acquisitions, culture is not a “soft issue.” It is the condition for post-merger resilience and performance.