Enhancing the success of mergers and acquisitions: A theory-driven approach

We argue that it is important to consolidate knowledge from the strategy implementation literature and the change management literature so that we can delineate common themes and unique insights offered by these two bodies of work in relation to mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Researchers’ inability to consistently explain M&A outcomes may occur, at least in part, because researchers have tended to operate in fairly strict discipline silos such that the strategy implementation and change management literatures have developed independently and have only marginally informed one another. We develop an integrated framework of the key processes driving M&A outcomes. We also identify a number of feedback effects among strategy implementation decisions, change management decisions, employees’ perceptions of change management processes and practices, employee attitudes, and M&A outcomes over time.