Ignoring until too late the barriers of management, culture, people, organization, and systems can doom even a financially attractive merger deal. This report taps the experience of senior human resource officers in 134 merged companies to focus on the achievements, problems, and processes in post-merger integration.

Questions addressed:

• How successful is the integration?
• What are the roles of the CEO and other members of top management?
• What is the effect of the merger/acquisition on stock performance?
• Is M&A a corporate core competency?
• Does downsizing lead to improved financial results?
• Who participates in integration planning and who receives feedback?
• What is the impact of cultural differences between buyer and seller?
• Which of these problems tend to be resolved and which defy solution?

Special features:

• 15 tables and charts
• direct quotes from respondents
• a short summary of "What We Have Learned"