Narrated Arenas of Post-Merger Integration : Issues Constructed in Mergers

The purpose of this paper is to understand what is meant when people in organizations refer to integration following mergers: What do people mean when they talk about post-merger integration in organizations? What parts of the organization are they referring to as important to focus on? And what issues are highlighted as important in the integration process? A narrative approach is taken in the attempts to answer these questions.From case studies in five mergers nine different arenas of post-merger integration are identified: the arena of aligned structures; the arena of shared resources; the arena of aligned systems and processes; the arena of common products; the arena of integration teams; the arena of common premises; the arena of the top management; the arena of a common vision, strategy and common core values; the arena of human interaction. These arenas can be seen as different organizational spheres where discussions on and construction of issues of post-merger integration takes place. Seeing post-merger integration as taking place on these different arenas provides a more dynamic understanding of post-merger integration than has been presented in traditional M&A research.