The Challenge of Integration: A Review of the M&A Integration Literature

Abstract

The integration of acquired or merging firms is a key driver of the success or failure of mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Over the last 30 years, a substantial body of research has addressed M&A integration, offering rich but widely dispersed insights into this phenomenon. This paper takes stock of the current knowledge, based on a review of articles published in scholarly journals. The review advances the conceptual understanding of the phenomenon by inductively developing an overarching framework for the M&A integration literature, where integration success is a function of context, structural and communication‐based interventions, which interact with collective sensemaking processes and negotiations among integration stakeholders. Based on this framework, a research agenda is suggested. I proposes that, in particular, the interaction between structural interventions and leadership warrants further study. Also, little is known about integration project management and integration team composition or the interaction between integration context and collective sensemaking processes. Finally, there is a shortage of research on temporal dynamics within integration projects. The review demonstrates that M&A scholars made substantial progress regarding our understanding of the M&A integration process, yet much remains to be done.

The Process of Postmerger Integration: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

“…Yet although decades of research indicates that M&A events lead to pervasive (and often negative) consequences for firms and individuals, the drivers of acquisition outcomes remain poorly understood. In light of the lack of consistent results from prior research, scholars have called for greater focus on the events that unfold during post-deal implementation (e.g., Haleblian, Devers, McNamara, Carpenter, & Davison, 2009;Steigenberger, 2016). These calls have led to a substantial and growing body of work on post-merger integration (PMI).…”

Organisational change and the psychological contract at a pharmaceutical company

“…Many acquiring companies lose key employees soon after the deal closes (Steigenberger, 2016) and, if uncertainties exist, key employees look for other alternatives (Pohl, Bertrand & Ergen, 2016).…”

“…Participants noted that the HR department did not play a critical role in the integration process which resulted in people-related activities being neglected. They felt that the HR staff should have formulated a transitional plan during the due diligence process so that all people-related issues could be addressed (Zhang et al, 2015) such as the retention of staff (Steigenberger, 2016).…”

The Pattern of M & A Integration: A Literature Review

“…tion from scholars [11], and the number of related literature has rapidly increased, the research results has remained fragmented and could not be gathered into a whole system [12].…”

“…Few studies have been done on the specific pattern of M & A integration, and it is often limited to conceptual research and case study, which is not comprehensive and need to be reexamined and revised and gain support from empirical research [14]. Thus, scholars have called for greater focus on the systematic study of the patterns in M & A integration [3] [11], and establish a unified understanding of M & A integration [4], which were used to be discussed in several independent, simplified and divided perspectives and sub-topic [12]. This paper aims to summarize the previous research on the integration patterns of M & A.…”