Abstract
Ninety percent of high tech mergers and acquisitions fail to deliver the expected
increases. Talent retention, communication and integration of corporate cultures are
of the major people challenges experienced in mergers and acquisitions. The failure
to retain key talented staff and the successful integration of corporate cultures often
cause productivity levels to drop to as low as 50 percent, employee satisfaction levels
drop by 14 percent and 80 percent of employees feel that leaders were concerned
with the financial benefits at the expense of people.
Research on mergers and acquisitions over the last 20 years were predominantly
conducted using quantitative research methods with a focus on finance, accounting
and economics. The need to conduct more qualitative research methodologies have
been expressed with a focus on people as oppose to financials and economic data.
This study followed a qualitative, realism, interpretivist approach in order to understand
and seek rich descriptions from various participants on their diverse acquisition
experiences which tells a story of why talent may decide to stay or leave post an
acquisition. Data was collected using predominantly semi-structured open ended
interviews. Nine acquired employees from different acquisitions were interviewed,
some of which resigned post their acquisition. A thematic analysis process was used
to analyse the data. Conclusions were drawn from the themes and the relationships
between them.
The study confirmed what the literature says on mergers and acquisitions and people
integration challenges. Corporate culture differences, HR due diligence, HR
integration plans and the management of change are key drivers impacting
employees’ decision to leave or stay post an acquisition. Corporate culture differences
include, structural, process and procedure difference. HR due diligence include
effective communication before and during an acquisition and HR integration plans
refer to the initiatives acquirer firms implement to manage the integration process. The
management of change include the acquirer firms’ ability to put robust change
management plans in place and the personal coping mechanisms acquired employees
adopt to manage the change.
The study concluded that the factors that impacted employees’ decision to stay or
leave after an acquisition varied. Of the main factors included the inability to cope with...
M.Phil. (Management)