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Employee Reactions To Cross-Border Acquisitions: Evidence From An Acquired Serbian Company

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  • Slađana Savović

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine factors influencing employee re-actions to changes brought about by cross-border acquisitions. The research was con-ducted in a company operating in Serbia’s retail sector that was acquired by a Belgian multinational company. The data were col-lected from 344 respondents. Measures of central tendency, the Mann-Whitney U test, and regression analysis were used to test the research hypotheses. The research results show that employee reactions to changes brought by cross-border acquisi-tion were generally positive. The study show that corporate cultural differences between the acquiring company and the acquired company and the support of transforma-tional leaders resulted in employees react-ing positively to the changes. The study attempts to improve understanding of employee reactions during the process of change occurring as a result of cross-border acquisition. Additionally, this study has practical implications, as it points to how the appropriate management of human resources contributes to positive employee reactions.

Suggested Citation

  • 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 –.
  • Handle: RePEc:beo:journl:v:66:y:2021:i:228:p:43-68
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Mladen Stamenković, 2023. "Where Did All The Papers Go? A Bibliometric Overview Of Publications In Economics From Serbia," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 68(236), pages 29-50, January –.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    employee reactions; cross-border acquisitions; acquired company; corporate cultural differences; transforma-tional leadership;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

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