The importance of post-merger integration in study of international business

Abstract

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are still an important strategy for the expansion of business, but their success is highly dependent on the activities performed after the acquisition. The lack of consistency of studies been conducted in relation to the contributing factors for an M&A success can be imputed to an emphasis on the pre-M&A stages. This paper examines articles related to post-merger integration (PMI) from high impact factor journals specialised in international business from 1980 to 2014. Using bibliometric analysis, it was possible to identify the most relevant papers and areas of research. Our conclusion is that 'performance after post-merger integration', 'integration modes of PMI's' and 'organisational and cultural differences in post-merger integration' are the most relevant areas of research. This article contributes to the literature of the PMI by uncovering the trends of the researches and by pointing out the importance of PMI for international businesses.