Post-acquisition integration process: use a stick or a carrot? A sensemaking-sensegiving perspective

Journal title STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI
Author/s Martina Gianecchini
Publishing Year 2018 Issue 2017/2
Language English Pages 23 P. 45-67 File size 258 KB
DOI 10.3280/SO2017-002003
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Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) are a relevant phenomenon in global eco-nomic scenario. Expected value is realized in M&As, first, if there is a well-executed integration; strategic goals are realized the moment a deal closes, but fi-nancial goals require a subsequent effort. Research on post-acquisition integration processes, which gained traction in the late 1980s, has ever since attracted broad research interest. The aim of this paper is to analyse a case study of the post-acquisition integration process from a sensemaking-sensegiving perspective. The case study is explorative and longitudinal in nature and it illustrates a situation, whereas a procedural integration between two firms is achieved at the expense of human integration. The following question guides this research: How do sense-making and sensegiving unfold in the first period (i.e., 100 days) of a post-acquisition integration process? Adding to the extant literature on post-acquisition integration, the analysis demonstrates the importance of reconciling sensemaking trajectories to avoid contradictions between acquiring and acquired companies’ perspectives, and it identifies triggers that enable divergent sensemaking.

Keywords: Post-acquisition integration, sensemaking, sensegiving, divergent sensemaking, triggers, case study

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Martina Gianecchini, Post-acquisition integration process: use a stick or a carrot? A sensemaking-sensegiving perspective in "STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI " 2/2017, pp 45-67, DOI: 10.3280/SO2017-002003