A third reason to clarify the desired cultural end state early in the M&A process is to
provide some behavioral anchors for employees as they develop expectations for life in
the combined company. Research finds that unless people can locate fixed points, dependable principles, or stable benchmarks, they are apt to make up their own behavioral rules (Weick, 1995). A statement of a desired endstate counters ambiguity and shapes outlooks. It can also energize employees by appealing to their values and rallying them around a set of meaningful unified goals (Chatman & Cha, 2003).