‘Change is our continuity’ : Chinese managers’ construction of post-merger identification after an acquisition in Europe
| Autor: | Rolf van Dick, Anna Lupina-Wegener, Johannes Ullrich, Shuang Liang |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | University of Zurich, Lupina-Wegener, Anna |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
Organizational identity Knowledge management Organizational identification business.industry 10093 Institute of Psychology Strategy and Management Perspective (graphical) Identity (social science) Change Post-merger identification Identification (information) Status Organizational change Perceived inferior status 658.1: Organisation und Finanzen 1408 Strategy and Management Agile organizational identity M&A business Construct (philosophy) 150 Psychology Organizational agile identity Agile software development |
| Popis: | This article examines organizational identification construction inmergers and acquisitions (M&As). The majority of existing studieshave focused on antecedents and outcomes of post-mergeridentification (PMI) in Western contexts. While more and moreChinese cross-border M&As are taking place, how Chineseemployees construct PMI remains underexplored. We adopted aqualitative case study approach to investigate how Chinesemanagers construct PMI after acquiring a European company. Asthe main contribution, we introduce the concept of agileorganizational identity (AOI), wherein agility is a central, enduringand distinctive characteristic of an organization, i.e.‘who we areand who we want to be’. Ourfindings reveal that AOI isleveraged by Chinese managers to deal with their perceivedinferior status, help them cope with the change and contribute tothe construction of a strong PMI. We believe that our studyprovides a new perspective on how employees can effectivelycope with organizational change while maintaining a sense ofidentity continuity. MAD statement This article examines organizational identification construction inmergers and acquisitions (M&As). We provide novel insights byintroducing the agile organizational identity (AOI) concept,wherein the agility is a central, enduring and distinctivecharacteristic of an organization, i.e.‘who we are and who wewant to be’. To maintain such a pre-merger identity after M&As,people strive to continue changing as change is the continuity.Thus, psychological bonds between an employee and theemploying organization do not become weaker. As agility isincorporated in the organizational identity, AOI helps employeesto cope with the low status of their organization, acceptorganizational changes, and identify with the post-mergerorganization. Organizational leaders might want to foster AOI inorder to successfully conduct strategic change initiatives. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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