Riding the whitewater: A social constructionist approach to the mergers and acquisitions integration process and the role of the integration manager

It is widely held that as many as 75% of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) fail to produce intended results. One important factor contributing to this shortfall is that M&A integration strategies are frequently articulated crudely and then inadequately communicated to those responsible for integration.; This thesis addresses these challenges and explores more effective ways to perform integration. A grounded theory building approach is employed in this inquiry. Primary data sources include participant observation based on the author's experience as an M&A integration manager and thirty interviews with professionals experienced in M&A integration.; The primary theoretical basis employed in this thesis is the social constructionist perspective, which is used to develop an M&A integration strategy development and execution process. From this perspective, the critical need during M&A integration is to align with the integration strategy a critical mass of the patterns of discourse or ways of talking occurring in the combining organization.; The results suggest five key challenges inherent in typical M&A integration processes including the frequency of (a) poorly articulated, impractical integration strategies; (b) fragmented understandings of the overall integration process for many of those involved; (c) ambiguity and diffuse foci during integration; (d) conflicting and redundant organizational processes that become apparent as organizations are combined; and (e) unclear leadership. These challenges are illustrated using interviewees' comments and a case study of an integration effort for which the author was the integration manager.; The recommendations address each of the five challenges presented above including the need to (a) create an emergent M&A integration strategy; (b) engage the whole system in the construction of meaning; (c) focus on creating synergistic combinations of complementary resources (SCORE); (d) develop socially constructed patterns of synchronized action (PSA); and (e) appoint an integration manager to facilitate the construction of meaning. A new metaphor to reconstruct the M&A integration process is also proposed: Riding the whitewater. Finally, specific methods for conducting the M&A integration process are proposed.