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The mergers and acquisitions (M&A) literature is vast, spanning over half a century of research endeavor and drawing upon multiple disciplinary perspectives. Despite this wealth of material, the fi eld suffers from a lack of connectedness. There is limited and compartmentalized understanding of the complexities of the M&A process, as the various streams of M&A research are only marginally

The current understanding of when and how knowledge transfer leads to cross-border acquisition (CBA) success is still limited. The aims of the paper are to provide new insights into the factors that facilitate or impede knowledge transfer, and to examine the impact of knowledge transfer on CBA performance. The data were gathered via a cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire on a sample of UK firms that had acquired North American and European firms. The findings indicate that knowledge transfer and employee retention have positive influence on CBA performance. In addition, organizational culture differences have a negative influence on CBA performance, but also mediate the relationship between knowledge transfer and CBA performance. No direct or mediating effect of national cultural distance has been found on knowledge transfer and CBA performance. One of the important contributions of the present paper is the development of a conceptual framework incorporating the mediating effect of national cultural distance, organizational culture differences, and employee retention on knowledge transfer and acquisition performance. Moreover, we have tested the two distinct types of knowledge transfer namely knowledge transfer in the functional area and knowledge transfer in the general management area, thus making a contribution to the existing literature on knowledge transfer in CBAs.

Sociocultural factors are important determinants of merger and acquisition (M&A) outcomes.Despite advances in this field, our understanding of sociocultural factors in M&As remains incomplete. In particular, the roles of sociocultural interfirm linkages, HR flexibility, and organizational cultural differences in M&As require further elucidation. The present article contributes to the M&A literature by further clarifying the multifaceted role of these sociocultural factors in M&As. We suggest that sociocultural interfirm linkages (complementary employee skills, trust, collective teaching, and cultural integration) between the merging firms influence the level of knowledge transfer in M&As. Furthermore, we argue that HR flexibility (flexibility in employee skills, flexibility in employee behavior, and flexibility in HR practices) is vital for the development of the above-mentioned sociocultural interfirm linkages in M&As. Finally, we maintain that organizational cultural differences are important antecedents of HR flexibility in M&As.

Ambidexterity is a growing field of management research. However, the role of human resources (HR) and organizational factors needs further exploration because of the fragmented nature of prior work and the subsequent lack of a unifying framework. Our review of 41 empirical studies identifies distinct research streams that relate to the effects of employee characteristics, leader characteristics, organizational structure, culture, social relationships, and organizational environment on ambidexterity. We discuss the most important findings within each stream, which contributes to the HR and ambidexterity literature by addressing the current state of our knowledge. To move forward research in this area, we identify important, yet underexplored areas in each stream. This contributes to the literature by highlighting specific gaps in our current knowledge that represent new avenues for future research. We also identify important interrelationships between different streams that need further clarification. We summarize our findings into an integrative model that elucidates the role of HR and organizational factors in ambidexterity. This contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of ambidexterity from the HR and organizational perspectives. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

International audienceDespite decades of research, the key factors for success in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and the reasons why M&As often fail remain poorly understood. While attempts to explain M&A success and failure have traditionally focused on strategic and financial factors, an emergent field of inquiry has been directed at the sociocultural and human resources issues involved in the integration of acquired or merging firms. This research has sought to explain M&A performance and underperformance in terms of the impact that variables such as cultural fit, management style similarity, the pattern of dominance between merging firms, the acquirer's degree of cultural tolerance, and the social climate surrounding a takeover have on the postmerger integration process. In this article, we attempt to take stock of, and synthesize, the findings from research on sociocultural and human resources integration in M&A, to identify conflicting perspectives and unresolved questions as well as several underresearched areas, and then use our analyses to propose an agenda for the next stage of research in this fiel

We expand on the emergent research of an ethic of care (EoC) to theorize why and how an organizational EoC fosters employee involvement in sustainability-related behaviors at work. Across two studies, we explore the socio-psychological mechanisms that link an EoC and involvement in sustainability-related behaviors. The results of Study 1, in which we applied an experimental design, indicate that an EoC is significantly related, through employees' affective reaction towards organizational sustainability, to involvement in sustainability-related behaviors. In Study 2, in which we used time-lagged data, we further drew on social identity theory to suggest that an EoC is both directly and indirectly, through enhanced organizational identification, related to employees' satisfaction with organizational sustainability. Through these two mechanisms, we explain the process by which an EoC can drive employee involvement in sustainability-related behaviors. These theoretical developments and empirical findings help to better understand the micro-foundations of organizational sustainability by building upon the moral theorizing of care

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