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COMMUNICATION WITH EMPLOYEES FOLLOWING A MERGER: A LONGITUDINAL FIELD EXPERIMENT.
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1991
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Realistic CommunicationsOrganizational EconomicsRealistic Merger PreviewCommunicationHuman Resource ManagementOrganizational BehaviorLongitudinal Field ExperimentManagementBusiness CommunicationDysfunctional OutcomesCommunication StrategyEmployee RelationMergers And AcquisitionsCommunication EffectsStrategic CommunicationOrganizational ResearchStrategic ManagementMarketingOrganizational CommunicationBusinessMerger EnforcementArts
The study examined how a realistic merger preview program affects employees after a merger announcement and discusses implications for firms and researchers. Employees in one plant received the preview while those in another received limited information. The preview reduced dysfunctional merger outcomes, effects persisted over time, and some attributes returned to pre‑merger levels.
This study examined the impact of a realistic merger preview, a program of realistic communications, on employees of an organization that had just announced a merger. Employees in one plant received the preview and those in another received limited information. Results based on four collections of data indicated that the preview reduced dysfunctional outcomes of the merger. Those effects continued over the duration of the study and, in some cases, measured attributes returned to levels comparable to their levels before the merger was announced. We discuss implications for organizations contemplating mergers or acquisitions and for researchers interested in such activities.