Mergers and Acquisitions : Post-acquisition integration success factors

Abstract

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have been a fundamental part of the global economy since the end of the nineteenth century. There are many benefits for companies to engage in M&A activities. Moreover, there is a lot of research on the benefits of M&A’s, specific success fac-tors and on specific companies. However, there is little to none research on the factors of failure. Even though 70-90 % of M&A’s fail. Furthermore, there is no general model to under-stand the factors of post-acquisition integration. This studies aim is to examine the process and create a model with the help of transaction cost economics and organisational learning. Moreover, the study aims to clarify whether there are any general key performance indica-tors to help determine the success of post-acquisition integration and M&A’s in general.

The data for the empirical analysis was gathered through semi-structured interviews. The people interviewed in the firms were contacted through email after which a Teams or Zoom meeting was set. The sample consisted of 6 interviewees of firms that operate international-ly. The results have helped create a general model with the success factors for the successful completion of post-acquisition integration. Furthermore, the result helped clarify that it is the factors of the entire M&A process that effect the success of post-acquisition integration.