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Special Issue of Human Resource Management

The growth in mergers and The growth in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity around the world, the volume of capital involved, and the pervasiveness of M&A stand in sharp contrast to their high rate of failure. Human resources have been frequently mentioned as a potential factor in M&A failure (e.g., Denisi and Shin, 2004; Weber, Shenkar and Raveh, 1996). However, conceptual and empirical studies of the role of HR Practices in M&A and its relationship to M&A performance remain scarce.

Many studies have been conducted under the assumption that M&A are homogeneous, but not all M&A are alike--and that matters (Bower, 2001).  For example, acquisitions may differ in their objectives.  Some acquisitions aim to reduce costs, while others aim to retain key talent, including scientists and engineers. These differing objectives require the use of different HR practices.  Furthermore, acquiring an international firm with the objective of improving both effectiveness and efficiency in the global marketplace will require a focus on the developmental practices of HR, including mentoring, training and creative compensation incentives, as well as intensive consideration of cultural differences.

While globalization increases the number of cross-border mergers between companies from different countries, research on the role of HR practices in these mergers is rare.  Clearly, the complex global operation of M&A requires a sophisticated adaptation of human resources, which gives rise to new questions, relevant to theory, research, and practice, about the nature and effects of HR management in M&A.  The complexity of M&A in the global environment is summarized well by Very, Lubatkin and Calori (1993) who stated, "cross-national mergers are a complex phenomenon, sometimes influenced by national cultural differences, sometimes by organizational influences, sometimes by both and sometimes by neither."

The role of human resource management (HRM) in affecting the success of M&A both nationally and internationally is timely and challenging.  We clearly need more research on the role of HRM during the different stages of the M&A, taking into account pre and post stage factors, such as strategic goals, synergy, integration approaches, corporate culture, national culture, leadership, and communication.  Several independent streams of management research have studied either pre-acquisition stage or post-merger integration stages. For example, one stream that focuses on pre-acquisition stage examined the relationship between firm level measures of financial performance and the strategic fit between buying and selling firms. Interestingly, a recently published meta-analysis study (King et al., 2004) failed to find a consistent relationship between performance gains and the degree to which the merging firms share similar functions. Another stream of research that focuses on post-merger stage examined the cultural fit of the buying and selling firms and its impact on the success of the merged company, but findings are contradictory and confusing.  In addition, studies have focused on the psychological effects of M&A on managers and employees. However, these streams have given little attention to the role of HR practices in affecting the success or failure of M&A in the national and international arenas. We note that the bodies of literature on M&A seem to exist in a state of splendid isolation. This issue was raised by a number of scholars years ago (e.g., Weber et al., 1996), but the situation has not changed much recently. While sharing some definitions and terms, authors writing about macro and micro issues associated with M&A, by and large, refrain from stepping into each other's turf, thereby missing out on opportunities for cross-fertilization. Furthermore, the research about human resource management in M&<st1:personname productid="A is" w:st="on">A is</st1:personname> still fragmented, leaving gaps that need to be addressed. For example, Schweiger and Goulet (2000) conclude, after their literature review about studies on post-merger integration that "most of this research, with the exception of culture and acquired top management turnover team, has not been systematic and linked to any comprehensive theory" (2000:84).

The failure to account for personnel issues is surprising since HRM has the potential to play an important role during all stages of M&A. The goal of this special issue is to stimulate scholars to focus on HR practices as a major area in M&A. This complex, widespread and growing phenomenon of M&A will require the incorporation of multidisciplinary, multi-level and cross-cultural models and analyses. Therefore, this special issue also aims to explore how underlying concepts and methodologies can make an important contribution towards understanding M&A and its performance.

We invite papers that focus on the role of HR in M&A in both the national and international arenas.  We encourage both conceptual and empirical contributions that may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

1. General Role of HR Practices in M&A:

• What are the roles of communication, training, staffing, recruiting, rewarding and other practices during the pre and post-merger period? Under what circumstances (e.g., industries, firm size) are these practices the most effective?
• What are the roles of leadership and trust during different stages of M&A?
• What are the best practices for knowledge transfer in M&A?
• What HR practices are effective during the planning, due-diligence, and screening stages of M&A?
• What are the best HR practices to deal with human behavior challenges (e.g., stress, negative attitudes, reduced cooperation and commitment, and turnover) during and following M&A?

2. Multidisciplinary approach:

• What insights can perspectives from strategy, organizational behavior, international management, psychology, sociology, anthropology and other disciplines provide to our understanding of the nature, antecedents,   processes and effects of HR practices?
• Given that some studies show that experience does not necessarily lead to better performance, how can    Learning theory, Knowledge-based-view and Resource-based-view explain the contribution of HR practices to M&A performance?
• Do strategic goals, strategic choices and screening processes during the pre-merger stage lead to different psychological experiences and outcomes that require different HR practices?
• What is the link between HR practices, synergy expectations and synergy exploitation?

3. Cross-Cultural approach:

• How do the characteristics of HR practices in M&A vary across national, environmental and social contexts?
• Do the effects of HR practices vary across national, environmental and social contexts?
• How do national, environmental and social contexts influence whether, when and how HR managerial      competences are more or less effective?

References

Bower, J. (2001). Not all M&As are alike – And that matters. Harvard Business Review 79(3):92-101.

DeNisi, A. and Shin, S.J. (2004). Psychological Communication Interventions in Mergers and Acquisitions. In: Sthal, G. K and M. E. Mendenhall (eds.). Mergers and Acquisitions: Managing Culture and Human Resources. Stanford: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Stanford</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> Press.

Schweiger, M.D. and Goulet, P.K. (2000). Integrating mergers and acquisitions: An international research review. In : Cooper, C. and Gregory, A. (Eds.) Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions Volume I, JAI, (<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">New York</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">NY</st1:state></st1:place>).

Very, P., Calori, R., and Lubatkin, M. (1993). An Investigation of National and Organizational Cultural Influences in Recent European Mergers. Advances in Strategic Management, 9:323-346.

Weber, Y., Shenkar, O., and Raveh, A. (1996). National vs. corporate cultural fit in mergers and acquisitions: An exploratory study. Management Science, 42:1215-1227.

All articles for the HR Science Forum will be double-blind reviewed by HRM scholars and practitioners. Papers suited for the HR Leadership Forum (practitioner-focused case studies, etc.) will be single-blind reviewed by subject matter experts. Please see HRM's Publishing Cues for a complete description of each section. The deadline for submitting papers is March 30, 2009. Questions about content and ideas should be directed to the guest co-editors noted above.

Manuscripts must be submitted electronically using the Journal's web-based submission and review website called Manuscript Central: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/hrm. Electronic submission through Manuscript Central is required.  Should you have problems, please contact Managing Editor <st1:personname productid="Leslie Wilhelm" w:st="on">Leslie Wilhelm</st1:personname> at lwilhelm@umich.edu.

When submitting through Manuscript Central, please submit the following documents:

1.       Document 1<st1:personname productid=": A " "="" w:st="on">: A "</st1:personname>blind" copy of your manuscript. Delete all author identification from this primary document. This document may include your tables and figures, or you may include tables and figures in separate documents.

2.       Document 2: Submit a separate document with information that would typically appear on the document's title page (title, author names, complete postal addresses, titles, affiliations, contact information including email, phone and fax.). This document may also include author biographies if you wish.

3.       Document 3<st1:personname productid=": A cover" w:st="on">: A cover</st1:personname> letter addressed to the Guest Editors specifically identifying how the paper fits within the special issue theme.

In addition:

§      Answer "Yes" to the question regarding special issue submission and clearly label your submission for the "Special Issue on Human Resource Practices in Mergers and Acquisitions" in the text box provided.

§      Direct logistical questions about submitting your manuscript through Manuscript Central to Managing Editor <st1:personname productid="Leslie Wilhelm" w:st="on">Leslie Wilhelm</st1:personname> at lwilhelm@umich.edu (preferred) or 734-763-0785.

Please direct any questions regarding the Special Issue to either of the guest editors.

Prof. <st1:personname productid="Yaakov Weber" w:st="on">Yaakov Weber</st1:personname> 

President, EMRBI (www.emrbi.com )

EuroMedAcademy of Business

E-mail:yweber@bezeqint.net

and

Chair, Department of Strategy and Entrepreneurship

College ofManagement

Rishon Lezion

Israel

E-mail:yweber@bezeqint.net