Perceptions of justice and organisational commitment in international mergers and acquisitions

Although there is substantial and accumulating evidence on the link between market entry modes and performance, evidence regarding their impact on employee’s perceptions and thereby their commitment is scarce. This is more so in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) where employee’s commitment has a significant impact on post-entry performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between perceptions of justice and organisational commitment in cross-border M&As.

The authors draw on market entry and M&As’ literature and studies on the link between perception of justice and commitment to develop the hypotheses. The authors test the hypotheses with survey data from a merger of two culturally different partners – British and Japanese. A total of 128 responses were received, out of a sample of 151 non-managerial employees within the firm.

The results show a strong association between employees’ perceptions of justice during the merger and commitment to the new organisation. Surprisingly, the results do not support the widely reported interaction effects between different organisational justices and employees’ commitment.

Obtaining data from a single M&A is a potential limitation of this study.

The study underscores the importance of post-market entry. The results suggest that particular attention needs to be paid to the way employees of the acquired firm are treated during their interactions with their counterparts.

The link between market entry and performance is well documented. However, little progress has been made in understanding the antecedents/factors that influence commitment in foreign market entry and in particular cross-border M&As. This study helps close this gap.