Post-acquisition Management Research Articles

Potential Benefits and Risks of Byte Dance’s Acquisition of Moonton: A Case Study Based on SWOT Analysis

In March 2021, ByteDance successfully acquired Moonton Technology and continued to expand ByteDance’s game industry. This article aims to investigate why ByteDance chose Moonton Technology among many overseas game companies, how the two parties completed the acquisition successfully, as well as the benefits that can be brought to both parties after the acquisition and the post-acquisition management model, and analyze how Moonton Technology can gain a leading edge in the competition with Tencent or what strategies and prominent games should be adopted. Based on the SWOT analysis method, this article explains the advantages, disadvantages, opportunities, and threats of Byte's acquisition of Moonton Technology, so as to make a correct analysis and future planning for this investor and manager. This article creates a new perspective for investors to understand ByteDance and Moonton Technology. This article suggests that investors should understand the background of the acquired company and whether it can produce synergies before investing, and consider long-term future planning.

Post-Acquisition Management in Transitional Economies: Empirical Analysis of Acquired Company in Telecommunication Industry

Abstract Growing globalization has created a business environment that encourages companies to internationalize through international acquisitions. The growth in the number and value of international acquisitions in the previous period has increased the number of studies that analyze this phenomenon from different standpoints. Research has shown that the success rate of international acquisitions is relatively low. Poor management of post-acquisition changes, which is particularly complex in transition economies, is cited as the main obstacle in creating value after acquisitions. The aim of the paper is to investigate the factors that contribute to the successful management of post-acquisition changes. The research is based on the case study of the acquisition of Montenegro Telekom by Deutsche Telekom. Data is obtained through employee surveys and interviews with expatriates engaged in acquisitions in transition economies. The research shows that successful management of post-acquisition changes requires change of the corporate culture in the short term and active knowledge transfer support from the parent to the target. Changes in corporate culture aim to encourage innovation among employees and willingness to accept a new business model and process. At the same time, knowledge transfer occurs through intensive employee training on the domestic market, abroad and through online courses and hiring expatriate managers. It turns out that these two processes are complementary and must be implemented simultaneously.

Managing global HRM integration in international expansion: the case of Geely cross-border acquisition

Learning outcomes This case was designed for use at the undergraduate and MBA level in human resource management and international business. Upon completion of the case study discussion and assignments, students will be able to: (1) understand human resource management in multinational corporations and the importance of cross-cultural management and human resource integration in acquisitions; (2) understand the challenges and solutions faced by multinational corporations in the process of expansion; (3) analysis of what characteristics should be considered in CEO selection for managing a newly acquired company; and (4) analyze how to better promote global human resource management from the dimensions of localized HRM system reform and human resource structure reconstruction. Case overview/synopsis After a long period of negotiation, exploration, suspension and restart, Geely Group finally acquired 49.9% of the shares of DRB’s Proton Holding and 51% of the shares of the luxury car brand, Lotus Group. On the afternoon of May 24, Geely Holding Group held an acquisition signing ceremony with the Malaysia DRB-HICOM Berhad (hereinafter referred to as DRB). Geely’s commercial territory now extended into Southeast Asia, and its product spectrum increased to luxury sports cars.However, the completion of the acquisition did not mean peace of mind. On the contrary, Geely still faced a series of challenges because of differences in cultural background. The national cultures of the two countries (China and Malaysia) were very different, and so were the values of the two enterprises. Facing the challenges of promoting global human resource integration, Geely needs to make a fundamental decision on the HRM mode in the new-acquired company. Should Geely transplant its own management practice into the Proton, or adopt localized HRM philosophy? Which kind of global HRM practice would be more effective for supporting the new-acquired company developments in the future? In the post-acquisition management, how to better realize the global human resources integration become a key problem faced by Geely. Complexity academic level This case was designed for use at the undergraduate and MBA level in human resource management and international business. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 6: Human Resource Management.

Information through Intermediaries: Influence of Venture Capital in M&A

This study investigates the influence of indirect relationship between the buyer and seller linked through common (shared) intermediary on the ex-ante acquisition choice and the ex-post acquisition integration outcomes. Prior M&A research has typically focused on the influence of direct ties of entities affiliated either with the buyer or with the seller. In contrast, we build on inter-organizational relationships research to examine how specialized information obtained through an intermediary entity connecting the acquirer-target dyad, influence value creation in acquisition deals. Using acquisition deals of VC-backed technology ventures, we empirically examine the impact of common venture capital affiliations shared between the acquired and acquiring firms on the likelihood of acquisition and post-acquisition management and knowledge integration. We find that acquirer-target dyads with common VC connection are more likely to be selected and more likely to achieve post-acquisition integration and the integration effect is amplified when the common VC is an industry specialist in the acquirer’s focal industry.

AN IMPACT OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS (M&A) TO ACHIEVE INEXPENSIVE ADVANTAGE IN THE ECONOMY OF BAHRAIN

The persistence of this paper is to assess the impact of Merger and Acquisition on the economy of Bahrain. The experiential research methodology is built on quantitative method by using online questionnaire and expressive statistics using the weighted average mean. The performance of an acquisition is measured by questionnaire distributed using selective sample technique to Head of Departments and executive management. The acquisitions were divided into three domains: Motives, Post-acquisition management and critical factors affecting the economy of Bahrain. The result of this research associates that the so-called planned and structural fit between companies complicated in M&A play an important role in refining the operative performance of the developed companies in the post-acquisition period. Effective acquirers have potential performance on the economy of the country, but they also had some skills and competencies to recover the performance of an acquired firm. The results of our study advocate the conclusion that success acquisition and mergers will lead to robust economy, particularly with regard to convinced aptitudes and skills worldwide.

Learning or inertia? The impact of experience and knowledge codification on post-acquisition integration

This article develops and tests a theory on the evolution of complex organizational decisions, such as the decision to integrate (or not) a target company during the post-acquisition management phase. Using a sample of US bank mergers, we show that persistence in—or variation of—integration decisions depends on two key factors: integration experience and related knowledge codification. Integration experience tends to generate persistence in the integration decision, which is associated with poor deal performance. Moreover, we show that when knowledge codification is low, the persistence caused by integration experience further increases. However, when knowledge codification is sufficiently high, the inertial effect of experience diminishes significantly. Hence, high levels of knowledge codification can weaken the effects of decision inertia, which suggests that as knowledge codification increases, the role of knowledge codification switches from strengthening inertia to promoting learning.

Post-acquisition Integration Management and Takeover Performance

In spite of a multitude of prior empirical investigations on factors explaining variance in company performance after a takeover each single study has typically incorporated only a narrow range of post-acquisition integration (PAI) design subfields. This paper applies a more comprehensive approach by developing hypotheses with regard to correlations between employee perceptions of six PAI subfields and their assessments of two acquisition performance dimensions. The hypotheses are empirically tested using data obtained in two standardised written employee surveys conducted about one year apart after a horizontal takeover in the information and communication technology industry in Germany. Responses were collected from 570 and 534 employees who worked for the merged organisation. PLS structural equation modeling results show that paths from employee perceptions of the quality of executive leadership in the PAI process, the degree of integration of business processes and corporate cultures as well as adequacy of integration speed to two performance constructs (internal reorganisation success, achievement of strategic objectives) are significantly positive. The results support the view that PAI investigations perform well with attempts combining various lenses of scholarly corporate acquisition research. Implications of the findings are discussed for future studies on PAI measures and for PAI management practice.

Cashing-in: understanding post-acquisition CEO stock option exercise

Purpose– The purpose of this study is to explore post-acquisition compensation management and examine how the two most commonly used theories to explain CEO stock option exercise, agency theory and CEO overconfidence, expect CEOs to manage their stock options following an acquisition.Design/methodology/approach– Using logistic regression analysis, the authors investigate whether CEOs are more or less likely to exercise options following an acquisition, and the effect which CEO tenure and acquisition history may have on option exercise.Findings– The results suggest that CEOs are more likely to exercise options following an acquisition. The authors also find that CEO tenure and acquisition experience are both linked to an increase in option exercise.Research limitations/implications– The findings suggest that future research should expect agency effects to outweigh overconfidence effects when considering CEO stock option exercise behavior within the post-acquisition firm context.Practical implications– This paper advises directors and shareholders about whether agency concerns or overconfidence are of greater concern and how CEO tenure and past acquisition history may influence post-acquisition CEO stock option exercise behavior, offering information valuable in designing effective corporate governance.Originality/value– This paper is among the first to explore how CEOs manage their options following an acquisition and finds that CEOs are more likely to exercise stock options following an acquisition. Post-acquisition compensation management is an important, though overlooked, consideration in improving acquisition performance.

The Interaction of Post-Acquisition Integration and Acquisition Focus in Relation to Long-Run Performance

We examine the joint influence of post-acquisition integration management and acquisition focus on long-run post-acquisition performance. We develop a financial measure related to integration that is based on changes in net purchases/disposals of physical assets. For a sample of acquisitions by Australian listed firms, we find that the main effects and the interaction of our integration measure and focus are related to performance in the direction suggested by theory. Our results suggest that inconsistencies in previous studies of the focus-performance relation are partly explained by the failure to consider the post-acquisition asset management strategies.

Organizational culture and post-acquisition changes in management control systems: An analysis of a successful Brazilian case

This paper analyzes the effect of organizational culture on the post-acquisition management control system (MCS) of the Brazilian company Extrativa Metalquímica Inc. after its acquisition by the FASA Participações Group. The results herein reported add to discussions of the subject and contribute to reducing the research gap in this area in Brazil. The analysis supports two major conclusions: (1) changes in the acquired company's MCS were derived from the new financial results-oriented culture introduced by the acquirer; and (2) the implementation of this culture implied modifications in production, financial and quality controls.

The impact of experiential and deliberate learning on post-acquisition integration

This paper develops and tests a theory on the evolution of complex organizational decisions, such as the decision of integrating a target company in the post-acquisition management phase. More spec...

Acquiring Poorly Performing Companies during a Recession: Insights into Post-Acquisition Management

At this time of recession, many companies are performing badly and some become acquisition targets. Once acquired, the General Manager needs to consider how to turn around the acquired company. Existing studies of turnarounds suggest a uniform approach to the early stages of management, but this is based on analysing stand-alone companies rather than acquired ones. Amongst acquisitions it is well known that there are different integration styles, but studies of mergers and acquisitions have not focused upon how poorly performing companies are managed. This paper asks (1) should acquired companies in poor financial health be managed as other acquired companies and (2) should they follow turnaround literature prescriptions? Using a novel mixed method approach, cluster analysis techniques reveal the existence of two distinct integration strategies for poor performing target companies, and qualitative interviews provide explanation of these findings. For General Managers this means that their strategy options should not be limited to the ‘classic’ turnaround strategies set out in the existing literature but should recognise that there are different ways to manage poor health acquisitions.

Post-acquisition Management:: A Phases Approach for Cross-border M&As

Achieving successful integration of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) continues to pose serious challenges for cross-border acquirers. In this article we suggest that to improve success, the post-acquisition management process should be divided into a number of phases with defined objectives and actions. This paper provides preliminary evidence drawing upon the post-acquisition management of four European M&As undertaken by an American automotive MNE. Implications for managers (relating particularly to cultural and organisational integration) and further research are suggested.

German acquisitions in Poland: an empirical study on integration management and integration success

This study investigates the effects of integration change on the integration success of German acquisitions in Poland. It is argued that the degree of integration change has a positive impact on two success measures, namely, economic growth and efficient co-operation, in the acquisition target. It is further argued that process transparency, participation and positive reinforcement are moderators in this relationship between degree of integration change and integration success. Hypotheses are tested on 521 Polish employees from twenty-nine German acquisitions made in Poland between 1991 and 1999. The results show that there was a positive relationship between degree of integration change and integration success as expected and that only process transparency emerged as a significant moderator of this relationship. Consequences for post-acquisition management after German acquisitions in Poland and limitations of the study are discussed.

Managing deep restructuring:: Danish experiences in Eastern Germany

This paper discusses the restructuring in post-socialist economies. Case evidence from East Germany illustrates that foreign investors must do more than provide crucial resources and integrate firms into global production networks. They also have to become involved in the process of organizational change in the enterprise itself. This is often inhibited by compatibility problems and discrepancies between the new strategic management and the local organizational culture which evolved under socialism. Therefore, post-acquisition management in former socialist firms needs to take an evolutionary approach to organizational change, to facilitate the process of organizational integration, and to train employees to operate in a market-economy which requires the communication of tacit managerial and organizational knowledge. This paper offers some suggestions as to how this may be done.

Post-acquisition Managerial Learning in Central East Europe

Managing a western acquisition in a central east European country requires substantial learning on both sides, on the part of the western acquirer and the central east European acquiree. While the research work underlying this paper deals with a variety of issues concerning post-acquisition management and learning in central east European organizations, the present paper focuses on aspects of individual, managerial learning following acquisitions in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. It is shown that the importance of appropriate cross-border management skills appears to be underestimated as compared to general business skills in the context of post-acquisition management efforts in central east Europe. The knowledge of the partner's language and a sensitivity towards cultural issues seem to be crucial, though undervalued factors for successful learning pro cesses on both sides.

The strategic positioning of information systems in post-acquisition management

Although corporate growth through acquisition continues to be a popular strategy for the 1990s, the failure rate of acquired companies remains high at 50 per cent. This paper focuses on post-acquisition integration of information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) and its impact on post-acquisitive performance. Based on the results of detailed case studies and a preliminary survey, it is found that managers involved in pre-and post-acquisition decision-making often fail to adequately consider the strategic importance of IS/IT in contributing to the acquisition outcome. IS integration is often driven by the immediate requirements of operational consolidation, and organizations fail to invest in the establishment of IS infrastructures to support longer-term corporate requirements. It is suggested that the reactive status accorded to IS coupled with an observed lack of organizational learning prevents organizations from exploiting IS effectively for the achievement of acquisition success.

The acquisition and integration of Zanussi by Electrolux : A case study

The story of the acquisition of Zanussi by Electrolux, a process begun in 1983, is a classic success one involving an aggressively acquisitive company growing strategically in a difficult industry. Although Zanussi was not targetted, the troubled Italian producer was a very good fit for the expansion of Electrolux in Europe. This prize-winning Case Study recounts the acquisition, turnaround and post-acquisition management of the Zanussi organization in all its aspects which gave Electrolux a clear lead in the major appliance industry in the '80s.