The intertwined effect of HRM practices and transformational leadership on employees’ attitudes in an M&A context: Evidence from a collaborative and mixed-methods study

Abstract

This mixed-methods study investigates transformational leadership in the context of a recent merger through a collaborative research project aimed at co-producing scientifically rigorous and practically relevant knowledge. Using qualitative and quantitative data, this study contributes to the growing stream of literature aimed at exploring how two key organisational levers, specifically leadership and HRM, impact the development of positive employees' attitudes, which is central to the success of any M&A process. In particular, this paper shows that in M&A contexts, HRM opportunity-enhancing practices (aimed at allowing employees to exercise their competencies and efforts in engaging with the organisation's decision-making processes) mediate the relationships between transformational leadership and both employees' job satisfaction and affective commitment. This suggests that organisations interested in developing employees' affective commitment and job satisfaction in merger and acquisition (M&A) contexts should complement transformational leadership with contextualized HRM practices to support employees coping with issues related to the perception of reduced opportunities. In addition, attention should be paid to leadership behaviours of local leaders, and not necessarily of those at the apex of the organisational hierarchy guiding the merger.