The triggers and types of emotions emerging in M&As

Abstract

This chapter digs deeper into the theory and practice of why and how emotions emerge during mergers and acquisitions. The chapter discusses emotions from a cognitive appraisal theory viewpoint, and examines them in practice through a case study of a Finnish-German acquisition where employees were invited to reflect on their emotions regarding integration. The findings suggest that acquisitions raise several emotions, both positive and negative, both in the acquiring and acquired companies. These emotions are triggered by events employees perceive as personally relevant in the workplace. The conclusions offer managers ideas on how to foster positive emotions at different organisational levels to enable smoother and swifter integration following an acquisition.