Exploring the link between management communication and emotions in mergers and acquisitions

• Date: 01 March 2018
• Author: Verena Kusstatscher,Rudolf R. Sinkovics,Stefan Zagelmeyer,Noemi Sinkovics
• Published date: 01 March 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1382

Exploring the link between management

communication and emotions in mergers and

acquisitions

Stefan Zagelmeyer

The University of Manchester, Alliance Manchester Business

School

Rudolf R. Sinkovics*

The University of Manchester, Alliance Manchester Business

School; Lappeenranta University of Technology

Noemi Sinkovics

The University of Manchester, Alliance Manchester Business

School

Verena Kusstatscher

Varani Persönlichkeitsentwicklung

Abstract

News on merger and acquisition (M&A) activities frequently

dominate the popular business press. While the announce-

ment of an M&A usually elicits enthusiasm in the business

community, it also results in increased levels of uncertainty,

stress,and anxiety for employees. Based on a qualitativeanal-

ysis of four international M&A cases, this paper integrates

emotions and communication during mergers and acquisi-

tions in a conceptual framework. We argue that management

communication and informationf‌lows during all stages of an

M&A process represent affective events, which in a cognitive

appraisal process trigger positive and negative emotions.

These in turn may inf‌luence employee attitudes, behaviour,

and performance, and ultimately also M&A success. Copy-

right © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: communication, emotions, M&As, international

business

Résumé

La presse économique est fréquemment dominée par des in-

formations portant sur les activités de fusion et d’acquisition

(désormais M&A). S’il est vrai que l’annonce d’une M&A

suscite de l’enthousiasme dans le monde des affaires, il n’en

demeure pas moins qu’elle provoque, chez les employés, des

niveaux élevés d’incertitude, de stress et d’anxiété. Dans cet

article, nous nous appuyons sur une analyse qualitative de

quatre cas internationaux de M&A pour intégrer, dans un

cadre conceptuel, les émotions et la communication pendant

les fusions et les acquisitions. Nous soutenons que la gestion

de la communication et des f‌lots d’information pendant les

différentes étapes d’un processus de M&A représentent des

évènements affectifs qui, dans un processus d’appréciation

cognitive, créent des émotions positives ou négatives.

Celles-ci pourraient inf‌luencer, à leur tour, les attitudes, les

comportements et les rendements des employés, et, en f‌inde

compte, la réussite de la M&A.

Mots-clés : communication, émotions, M&As, commerce

international

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have been waxing and

waning over the past decades. Buckley and Ghauri (2002)

claimed that f‌ive merger waves characterized the world eco-

nomic scene in the 20

th

century that would be followed by

two further waves before and after the f‌inancial crisis in 2008

(Weber, Teerikangas,Rouzies, & Tarba, 2012). Yet, the public

and management discourse reports poor performance of

M&As, despite a lack of conclusive empirical research evi-

dence (Risberg & Meglio, 2012).

As people-management issues are considered to be re-

sponsible for between one-third and one-half of all failures

(Cartwright & Cooper, 1993), the human side has become

quite prominent in recent M&A research (Angwin, Mellahi,

†

Acknowledgements: We gratefullyacknowledgeinsightful comments received

fromFang Lee Cooke from Monash Unive rsityin Melbourne. W e are also grateful

to seminar participants at the Comparative and International Business Research

Centre (CIBER) seminars at The University of Manchester, Alliance Manchester

Business School (http://www.mbs.ac.uk/ciber).

*Please address correspondence to: Rudolf Sinkovics, The University of

Manchester, Alliance Manchester Business School, Booth Street West,

Manchester M15 6 PB, United Kingdom. Email: Rudolf.Sinkovics@man-

chester.ac.uk http://www.manchester.ac.uk/research/rudolf.sinkovics

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences

Revue canadienne des sciences de l’administration

35:93–106 (2018)

Published online 2 June 2016 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/CJAS.1382

Can J Adm Sci

35(1), 93–106 (2018)Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 93