The human aspect of cross-border acquisition outcomes: The role of management practices, employee emotions, and national culture

Abstract

Employee emotions have received little attention in the literature on M&A outcomes. As acquisitions are highly emotional events for the employees of the acquired organization, strong affective reactions may emerge resulting in positive or negative work-related outcomes, contributing to the success or failure of an M&A. Building upon the model proposed by Sinkovics et al. (2011) International Business Review, 20(1), 27–47, we examine the effects of managerial communication, managerial support, and three cultural dimensions on employee emotions, which in turn influence employee intentions and behaviors. Our study examines these relationships utilizing a cross-country sample of 158 employees in three organizations which all were acquired by the same corporation. Our findings reveal that managerial support influences the employees’ emotions as well as active resistance behavior. While managerial communication did not influence the employees’ emotions, it has a direct effect on the employees’ passive resistance behavior. Though cultural dimensions have only a limited effect on the employees’ emotions, all three proposed cultural dimensions have significant direct effects on the employees’ work-related outcomes, such as turnover intention.