Challenges And Stakes Of The Post-acquisition Integration Process

Abstract

Over the last few decades mergers and the acquisitions, both the international and the national ones, have become strategic instruments of growth and development of enterprises. A sensible aspect regarding the merger or the acquisition operations is that of integrating the entities had in view. Because it is considered that the high rate of the failure of the operations is due to unsuccessful integration of the entities, we have decided to identify the challenges occurring in this phase and the factors influencing mostly the integration process. Our research tackles aspects regarding the challenges resulting from a merger or acquisition operation, within the integration phase of the entities involved. Thus, we analysed the importance of the human and cultural factors and the challenges resulting from this integration process, for we consider that these factors have a strong impact on the post-acquisition performance and they can ensure the success of the integration. We found that the acquiring firms are affected by changes during the integration process, by retaining the important resources, the transfer of resources from or to the acquired firms and by eliminating the redundant resources. Yet, in the integration phase, the problems may occur due to human factors, cultural incompatibility and an inappropriate management of the integration process. Introduction Over the last few decades, due to the intensification of competition, of the new financial possibilities and the changes in the regulating process in all the countries, the mergers and the acquisitions, both the international and the national ones, have become strategic instruments favouring the increase of the product portfolios, the penetration of new markets of the purchase of new technologies. The decision to apply the merger or acquisition operation often represent one of the most important actions subordinated to the strategy of an enterprise, having immediate financial implications yet, important consequences on long term (in terms of development and survival). A sensible aspect regarding the merger or the acquisition operations is that of integrating the entities had in view. Thus, many researchers consider that integration is the most important phase of the merger or acquisition process. Hence the idea that the failure of a merger or acquisition operation is mainly due to the unsuccessful integration of the entities. Considering that the high rate of the failure of the operations is due to integration, we have decided to identify the challenges occurring in this phase and the factors influencing mostly the integration process. Thus, after a short description of the research methodology used in this paper, we presented the main research studies in the literature on the post-acquisition or post-merger integration. Also, we presented different integration policies and then the stakes of the post-acquisition management. We analysed the importance of the human and cultural factors in the integration process and the way in which a firm can manage these factors so that they ensure the success of the integration. In the end we presented a few conclusions of the research.