In Search Of M&A Success: Putting Employee Engagement At The Center Of Attention After Post-Merger Downsizing
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2020-01-30
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en
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Abstract
While mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are as popular as ever, disappointing results remain to puzzle scholars on how to achieve M&A-success. When adding the frequently observed post-merger downsizing initiative to the equation, surviving employees need to endure many set-backs throughout the process. Interestingly, little is known regarding employees’ engagement in this context, especially regarding causalities in relationship to mergers and downsizing. Therefore, this research proposes a causal model of employee engagement in het context of M&A and post-merger downsizing, including three underlying mechanisms regulating the engagement (i.e. the contagion mechanism, the resilience mechanism and the anchor & adjustment mechanism). The author performed a systematic literature review to find evidence for causalities through theory-based reasoning and inductive-data interpretation. Consequently, the causal model was translated to a causal loop diagram model (derived from system dynamics) functioning as input for simulations to observe the behaviour over time. The simulation findings offer four different patterns in the behaviour of engagement during the merger and downsizing process, where the effect of communication plays an important role. Additionally, the causal model offers opportunities for future research directions and sets the stage for further system dynamics simulations research.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen