Merger and Acuisition
Pergamon
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European Management Journal Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 239–253, 2001 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain S0263-2373(01)00021-4 0263-2373/01 $20.00 + 0.00
HR Issues and Activities in Mergers and Acquisitions
RANDALL SCHULER, Rutgers University, New Jersey SUSAN JACKSON, Rutgers University, New Jersey
Mergers and acquisitions are increasingly being used by firms to strengthen and maintain their position in the market place. They are seen by many as a relatively fast and efficient way to expand into new markets and incorporate new technologies. Yet their success is by no means assured. To the contrary, a majority fall short of their stated goals and objectives. While some failure can be explained by financial and market factors, a substantial number can be traced to neglected human resource issues and activities. Numerous studies confirm the need for firms to systematically address a variety of human resource issues and activities in their merger and acquisition activities. This article proposes a three-stage model of mergers and acquisitions that systematically identifies several human resource issues and activities. Numerous examples are offered to illustrate the issues and activities in each of the three stages. The article concludes with a description of the role and importance of the HR department and leader. 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Mergers, Acquisitions, Human resource issues, Strategic alliances ute more efficiently, while other firms focus on their own internal growth, leadership and development. Regardless of industry, however, it appears that it has become all but impossible in our global environment for firms to compete with others without growing and expanding through deals that result in mergers or acquisitions (Lucenko, 2000; Galpin and Hemdon, 1999; Deogun and Scannell, 1998, 2001). The deals between many of the largest and most successful global firms such as
PII:
European Management Journal Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 239–253, 2001 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain S0263-2373(01)00021-4 0263-2373/01 $20.00 + 0.00
HR Issues and Activities in Mergers and Acquisitions
RANDALL SCHULER, Rutgers University, New Jersey SUSAN JACKSON, Rutgers University, New Jersey
Mergers and acquisitions are increasingly being used by firms to strengthen and maintain their position in the market place. They are seen by many as a relatively fast and efficient way to expand into new markets and incorporate new technologies. Yet their success is by no means assured. To the contrary, a majority fall short of their stated goals and objectives. While some failure can be explained by financial and market factors, a substantial number can be traced to neglected human resource issues and activities. Numerous studies confirm the need for firms to systematically address a variety of human resource issues and activities in their merger and acquisition activities. This article proposes a three-stage model of mergers and acquisitions that systematically identifies several human resource issues and activities. Numerous examples are offered to illustrate the issues and activities in each of the three stages. The article concludes with a description of the role and importance of the HR department and leader. 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Mergers, Acquisitions, Human resource issues, Strategic alliances ute more efficiently, while other firms focus on their own internal growth, leadership and development. Regardless of industry, however, it appears that it has become all but impossible in our global environment for firms to compete with others without growing and expanding through deals that result in mergers or acquisitions (Lucenko, 2000; Galpin and Hemdon, 1999; Deogun and Scannell, 1998, 2001). The deals between many of the largest and most successful global firms such as
References: European Management Journal Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 239–253, 2001 251 European Management Journal Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 239–253, 2001 253