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A Framework for Understanding Post-Acquisition IS Integration

Maria Alaranta, Karlheinz Kautz, A Framework for Understanding Post-Acquisition IS Integration. TUCS Technical Reports 833, Turku Centre for Computer Science, 2007.

Abstract:

The number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A’s) is increasing all over the world. As a result, more and more firms face the challenges of integrating e.g. operations, personnel, information systems and R&D once the deal is closed. Information systems (IS) issues are important in the overall merger processes and for its success. However, both post-merger integration and post-merger IS integration receive little attention in the literature. This paper attempts to fill that gap by exploring the relationship between what influences and shapes post-acquisition IS integration and how it consequently evolves. Based on a synthesis of prominent IS literature, an analytical framework is developed using three perspectives: 1) the structuralist, 2) the individualist and 3) the interactive process perspective. Each supplies a set of key concepts for conceptual understanding and empirical exploration of post-acquisition IS integration in practice. The analytical framework is applied to a longitudinal case study of post-acquisition IS integration in a print house after it acquired a plant from a competitor, where tailored software was chosen to enable better integration and coordination of the production capacity.

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BibTeX entry:

@TECHREPORT{tAlKa07a,
  title = {A Framework for Understanding Post-Acquisition IS Integration},
  author = {Alaranta, Maria and Kautz, Karlheinz},
  number = {833},
  series = {TUCS Technical Reports},
  publisher = {Turku Centre for Computer Science},
  year = {2007},
  keywords = {mergers, acquisitions, M&A, information systems, IS integration, post-merger integration},
  ISBN = {978-952-12-1932-0},
}

Belongs to TUCS Research Unit(s): Network Economics Institute

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