Merger of two universities of applied sciences

Abstract

This chapter reports the case of the merger between two universities of applied sciences in Finland. The official merger process started in the beginning of the year 2008 and eventually merged on 1st January 2010. It is expected that the merger will enhance both the internationalization capacity and market attractiveness. Following an analytical framework of merger process, we will discuss how the decision of the merger was made and how the merger was implemented along three distinct stages, namely: planning: integration; and outcomes. In the end, it concludes that the merger was relatively successful and provide implications of the case for policy makers and institutional managers when planning and operating mergers.