Experiences from a Post-Acquisition Process : A Study of Middle Managers and Their Employees

Abstract: It is increasingly common that Swedish companies get acquired by foreign firms. An acquisition will have more evident changes in the acquired firm. The organisational structure will be affected which implies that people in different levels of the organisation experience the changes differently. Middle managers are believed to have an exposed role in organisational changes as they are in between top management and employees. In order to reach a successful integration in the postacquisition process employee trust in management is seen as a vital part. The area of middle managers in acquisitions and how individuals experience the post-acquisition process are subjects where more research is needed. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the post-acquisition process in the acquired firm, focusing on how the acquisition has been experienced among middle managers and their employees. The method chosen for thesis is qualitative and the information has been collected by using semi-standardised interviews as well as questionnaires. The study was limited to one company where seven middle managers and the human resource manager were interviewed. Also 32 employees participated in the study by answering the questionnaires. We can conclude that the middle managers did not show resistance to changes unless it would be unfavourable for the company. We could also see indications that internally advanced middle managers can be related to an advantageous atmosphere of communicating trust. It was also concluded that middle managers are a vital link in terms of conveying information throughout the post-acquisition process.