ABSTRACT

This chapter starts by examining what makes employees supportive or resistant towards a merger or acquisition. The implications of the evidence reviewed in this chapter are that style of leadership matters in cultivating employees’ support, as does the way that employees think of the two organizations involved as a good fit (as well as their relative size or status), and getting them directly involved with helping to implement the merger or acquisition. The evidence shows that employees are most likely to engage in resistance behaviour when the degree of integration between the two organizations is quite substantial; when the two organizations have very different cultures or reputations; when the employees are not kept well informed about the merger or acquisition; when employees do not see learning between the two organizations as necessary; if they are a manager; if they do not feel a sense of belonging within the new organization; if they hold persistent stereotypes about the two organizations; and if they feel that the merger or acquisition will undermine the organization’s history. This chapter then reviews evidence about why employees tend to want to quit after a merger or acquisition, and finds that factors which predict quitting intentions are: a broken psychological contract, lack of career development opportunities, relative deprivation of benefits, unfairness in job cuts or other negative actions, low feelings of belonging with or loyalty to with the organization, low job satisfaction, low commitment to the organization, personality, the external job market, context, and having an attitude of withdrawing from the organization. This chapter also examines evidence about what makes managers want to quit, such as cultural differences and low managerial autonomy.