DECISION SUPPORT FOR SELECTING AN APPLICATION LANDSCAPE INTEGRATION STRATEGY IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) represent a powerful strategic instrument increasingly applied in today\u27s business environment. Besides juridical, financial, and organizational challenges, it is crucial to rapidly integrate the existing application landscapes in order to capitalize the aspired synergies. Literature documents four commonly agreed strategies: \u27best-of-breed\u27, \u27absorption\u27, \u27co-existence\u27, and \u27new-build\u27. However, no consolidated set of criteria exists to ease the selection of an integration strategy most suitable for the merger or the acquisition. Based on the results of a literature study, this paper proposes four integration profiles enabling a structured decision support for selecting the appropriate application landscape strategy during M&A. Each profile comprises relevant driving factors and resulting consequences as selection criteria. The identified literature statements regarding the criteria are validated by means of 12 confirmatory interviews with M&A experts. Furthermore, collected findings from an additional exploratory interview part with the practitioners complement the devised strategy profiles

IS Antagonism: Explaining Negative Value Creation from IS Integration in M&A

IS integration problems are often an important determinant of negative value creation in Mergers and Acquisitions. To date, these problems are commonly attributed to mis-aligned Business and IS Integration Strategies, flawed preparation or execution or negative synergies, but the role of IS itself is underemphasized. Based on a case study and expert interviews, we propose a theory addressing this issue. Our explanation focuses on the concept of IS Antagonism, referring to the destructive interaction between previously independent information systems, which occurs when these are operationally combined. This concept offers novel explanations beyond strategic misalignment and considers the nature of the information systems themselves in the integration phase. IS antagonism is omni present in M&A, which has the practical implication that we need to account for its value destructing characteristics in pre-merger synergy predictions and by securing necessary IS resources to mitigate during execution

Success factors in mergers and acquisitions : complexity theory and content analysis perspectives

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Proactively Building Capabilities for the Post-Acquisition Integration of Information Systems

To gain the strategic benefits of acquisitions, firms must successfully execute post-acquisition IS integration. Unfortunately, a key reason acquisitions regularly fail is because firms fail to successfully leverage the post-acquisition IS integration capability. This capability is not found in non-acquisitive firms. Although research has shown that this capability must be built during the years preceding an acquisition, it has not comprehensively explained what the capability is, nor how it is proactively developed. Through an engaged scholarship learning partnership, this PhD examines how Maersk, proactively built their post-acquisition IS integration capability prior to their first acquisition. By adopting the resource-based view and its extension into dynamic capabilities this PhD contributes mid-range theory that describes and explains this proactive capability building process. Firms can leverage this useful knowledge when building their own IS integration capability to become capable of executing post-acquisition IS integration

Support of police consolidation : assessing the impact of perceived complexity.

This dissertation is an examination of how police officers\u27 perceptions of the complexity in merging Organizational Change Components (OCCs) related to the consolidation of the Louisville Division of Police (LDP) and Jefferson County Police Department (JCPD) in 2003 impact support for police consolidation. This study focused on five primary OCCs: 1) culture(s), 2) policies and procedures, 3) communications, 4) collective bargaining contracts, and 5) re-defining patrol division boundaries. The population consisted of officers who were currently employed by the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) and were affiliated with either the former LDP or the JCPD in 2003 when these departments were merged to form LMPD. The entire population of 669 police officers was invited to participate in this study and complete a survey. The survey resulted in 390 respondents, a 58.2% response rate. Police officers hired post-consolidation were not included in the population for this study. The dissertation was divided into six chapters comprising monocentrism and polycentrism, history of the LMPD consolidation, diffusion of innovation theory, and complexity theory. Chapter I provides an overview of the study. Chapter II explores monocentric and polycentric forms of government and police departments. It also focuses on diffusion of innovation theory in consolidation efforts and how complexity plays a significant part of innovation. Chapter III gives an overview of the merger of the LDP and JCPD. This chapter further explores the nature of the OCCs used in merging the two police agencies. Chapter IV, V, and VI cover the methods utilized, findings, and discussion of the findings respectively. A stepwise regression analysis was conducted utilizing current support for consolidation as the dependent variable. Six models were tested. The findings indicate that officers\u27 perception of the complexity of merging OCCs was a significant predictor of current support for consolidation. Additionally. officers\u27 prior support for consolidation and officers\u27 satisfaction with the results of the merged OCCs were also significant predictors of current support for merger. In comparison, prior support was the strongest predictor of current support followed by satisfaction

A Tale of Two Trusts: A Case Study of the Consolidation of Two Community Land Trust Affordable Housing Organizations in Vermont

Between early 2010 and May 2011 the Windham Housing Trust conducted a feasibility analysis to study the possibility of merging with or acquiring the Rockingham Area Community Land Trust, a similar community land trust organization providing affordable housing in an adjacent county. This study analyzed the one year feasibility study and merger negotiation process between the two organizations, and explored the complex set of relationships between financial partners, communities, residents, and funding stakeholders. The methodology for this work included reviewing current literature about nonprofit mergers and acquisitions, funder involvement, and community impact of consolidating services. In addition the author interviewed five key stakeholders in this merger, reviewed internal and financial documents, and drew on participant observation as a manager with the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust. The study reveals that more can be learned about the future of the community land trust model of affordable housing in Vermont than the just the technical aspects of the merger. The merger highlights many of the challenges of long term stewardship of an expanding portfolio of affordable housing around the state and extracts key lessons-learned from the merger which may be useful to any small, rural nonprofit interested in merging, but is most likely to be valuable to funding and advocacy organizations who are seeking to maintain networks of providers in their service area in the face of increasing community need

Consolidation of irrigation systems, phase II: engineering, economic, legal, and sociological requirements

Submitted to Office of Water Research and Technology, United States Department of the Interior.OWRT project no. B-083-COLO