Resistance to change in the case of mergers and acquisitions: part 3

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are inherent to firms evolving in today’s business world, whether they be corporate giants, SMEs or start-ups. While the ultimate objective of an M&A is to improve the newly constructed firm’s performance, financial and technical impacts are but some of the considerations the organization will need to face. Indeed, employee resistance appears to be a major factor in the overall success of this strategic move. Throughout this three-part paper, the purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough overview of the forces at play in employee resistance to change, its influence on the M&A’s success, and the ways to address such resistance.

Based on existing empirical studies, industry expert findings and academic reviews, this paper sought to link together the concepts of communication at a time of change, leadership, employee involvement, feeling of adherence to the firm (the four key pillars), and their respective influences in how they may handicap or aid the firm in achieving its M&A objectives.

Although it may seem like a straightforward concept, resistance to change in the turbulent time that is an M&A situation is anything but simple. Classic assumptions of resistance being a negative force or participation being a requisite part of overcoming resistance are challenged. At the same time, leadership and employee feeling of adherence to their previous organization play a supporting role when compared to the significant influence of communication pre, during and after the merger. The ensuing portrait is, thus, multifaceted and underscores the complexity of handling an M&A at the human resources level.

Whilst the paper allowed to identify and link the different factors at play, a thorough empirical study in order to compare and contrast those factors at an M&A’s different stages (pre-during-post), and thus evaluate their respective importance, would be commendable.

In providing an overview of several aspects at play in employee resistance to change, this paper allows management practitioners to consolidate their knowledge on the process’ four key pillars.

By illustrating not only its – expected – negative outcomes, but by also providing a glimpse at some potential benefits in terms of increased merger performance, this paper gives managers incentives to not always challenge but also embrace their employee’s resistance to change as a healthy part of the firm’s transformation process.

This literature review provides an overview of resistance to change and draws parallels between the concepts explored herein and the M&A situation, which would be useful to the general practitioner undergoing an M&A.