Abstract:Given the frequent failure of many M&A deals, the question of their sustainability is a critical one. Still, in existing literature, there is a visible emphasis on the perspective of the acquiring firm and its characteristics in affecting M&A performance. Moreover, the role of trust, both from the acquiring and acquired firms, has not received extensive attention to date. The present paper builds on a quantitative and qualitative study of Israeli high-tech start-ups acquired by international firms to explore the effects of trust on M&A success. Our study indicates that trust from acquired firm managers positively affects acquisition success, although trust from the acquiring firm (expressed with the autonomy that it leaves to the acquired firm) is not a significant predictor of acquisition success.

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This article aims to explore the factors behind successful M&A of startup companies. Research Design & Methods: The objectives of this qualitative study are pursued in the context of acquired high-tech start-ups in Israel. The study employed semi-structured interviews. The practical model for analysing the transcribed interview responses was based on Shkedi's (2003) method, drawing also from the grounded theory tradition in the process of coding and interpreting data categories. Findings: The results of this research highlight the communication climate (comprising factors such as openness, trust, supportiveness and interest of top managers in the employee's well-being) as a vital behavioural mechanism influencing post-acquisition performance. Also, we found that effective knowledge transfer to the acquired company is one of the essential determinants of success. Implications & Recommendations: M&A require a clear business plan, that which is based on realistic needs. A major fault in many start-ups is focus on technology rather than on strategy. Many start-ups are established and staffed by engineers and scientists who often believe, erroneously, that a good product will sell. Contribution & Value Added: In extant research, most attention has been paid to the acquiring company perspective on success. In contrast, this study focuses on the seller's perspective and contribution to M&A success, instead of on the buyer's perspective. Article type: research paper

The aim of this paper is to shed light on the effects of communication and management engagement on start-up acquisition success. Research Design & Methods:The present paper adopts a behavioural perspective and uses a set of quantitative data collected from start-up companies from Israel, which were taken over by international firms, in order to explore the role of acquired firm's management. Particular emphasis is put on communication and the managerial engagement in the post-acquisition stage. Findings: Partial empirical support for these relationships can be found. Subsequently, a number of avenues for future research are discussed. Implications & Recommendations: Specifically, it is argued that communication and management engagement mediates the influence of a number of employee-related and organisational factors on acquisition performance. Contribution & Value Added: Taking into account the significant failure rate of international acquisitions, the identification of their critical success factors is an important issue. This pertains also to the acquisition of startups by established firms, for which it is a strategy for enhancing their technological base. The paper also contributes to extant literature by adopting the acquired firm's perspective. Article type:research article

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