Communication During a Merger: The Experience of Two Banks

Abstract

This paper examines the communication used during a merger between two banks in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. The study drew on the framework of Ivancevich, Schweiger and Power (1987) to examine the communication process used during different phases of the merger. The study used several sources of data at each bank: interviews with current and former employees, a survey of current employees, newspaper articles and other external information sources, and internal documents such as memos and newsletters. The findings suggest that individuals took charge of controlling their stress during the merger and that the two banks played somewhat lesser roles in the process, except for the period immediately after the announcement of the intent to merge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]