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Employee commitment in the post-acquisition integration process: The effect of integration speed and leadership

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  • Schweizer, Lars
  • Patzelt, Holger

Abstract

We draw on a behavioural decision making framework and the M&A and leadership literatures to examine the effect of post-acquisition integration speed and leadership on the commitment decisions of employees to stay with acquired target firms during the integration process. We propose that fast integration motivates employees to stay, and that effective leadership can enhance this effect. Drawing on conjoint analysis and data on 2912 commitment decisions nested within 91 employees, we find that fast integration has a positive effect on employees’ motivation to stay with the firm, and that the more the leadership style of their supervisor is characterized as relational, contextual, inspirational, supportive, and stewardship-based, the stronger this effect of fast integration. We discuss implications of our work for the M&A literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Schweizer, Lars & Patzelt, Holger, 2012. "Employee commitment in the post-acquisition integration process: The effect of integration speed and leadership," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 298-310.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:scaman:v:28:y:2012:i:4:p:298-310
    DOI: 10.1016/j.scaman.2012.02.003
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    Cited by:

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    2. Thuy, Nguyen Thi Bich & Van, Phan Dang Ngoc Yen, 2020. "Employee Commitment To Organizational Change With The Role Of Job Satisfaction And Transformational Leadership," OSF Preprints vs689, Center for Open Science.
    3. Elizabeth Chinomona & Tebogo Mofokeng, 2015. "The influence of workplace condition and employee satisfaction on employee committee in South African Companies," Journal of Business & Management (COES&RJ-JBM), , vol. 3(2), pages 356-369, April.
    4. Strobl, Andreas & Bauer, Florian & Matzler, Kurt, 2020. "The impact of industry-wide and target market environmental hostility on entrepreneurial leadership in mergers and acquisitions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(2).
    5. Anna Lewandowska & Zia Ullah & Fatima Saleh AlDhaen & Esra AlDhaen & Alina Yakymchuk, 2023. "Enhancing Organizational Social Sustainability: Exploring the Effect of Sustainable Leadership and the Moderating Role of Micro-Level CSR," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-16, August.
    6. Slađana Savović, 2021. "Employee Reactions To Cross-Border Acquisitions: Evidence From An Acquired Serbian Company," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 66(228), pages 43-68, January –.
    7. Rogiest, Sofie & Segers, Jesse & van Witteloostuijn, Arjen, 2018. "Matchmaking in organizational change: Does every employee value participatory leadership? An empirical study," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 1-8.
    8. Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy & Phan Dang Ngoc Yen Van, 2020. "Employee Commitment to Organizational Change with the Role of Job Satisfaction and Transformational Leadership," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 2(1), pages 1-17, January.
    9. Meglio, Olimpia & King, David R. & Risberg, Annette, 2017. "Speed in acquisitions: A managerial framework," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 415-425.
    10. repec:thr:techub:1002:y:2020:i:1:p:1-17 is not listed on IDEAS

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