Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T03:43:52.782Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 8 - Social Identity Processes in Sino-Western Mergers and Acquisitions

from Part III - Change in Context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2023

By
Shuang Liang ,
Rolf van Dick ,
Johannes Ullrich  and
Anna Lupina-Wegener
Edited by
Shaul Oreg ,
Alexandra Michel  and
Rune Todnem By
Shaul Oreg
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Alexandra Michel
Affiliation:
Universität Heidelberg
Rune Todnem By
Affiliation:
Universitet i Stavanger, Norway
Get access

Summary

Using a social identity approach, this research program focuses on how Eastern and Western managers make sense of mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Study 1 used online experiments to examine how people perceive intergroup criticism. We found that employees responded to criticism more negatively when it was made by an outgroup rather than by ingroup members. Building on the study 1 results, we further explored social identity processes and intergroup dynamics. We conducted interviews with European (Study 2) and Chinese managers (Study 3) involved in an acquisition of a European company by a Chinese holding. Study 2 shows that European managers’ organizational identity change is facilitated by alignment of a post-merger identity with their pre-merger historical identity, and over time, they engaged in collaboration and knowledge sharing with their Chinese counterparts. In Study 3, we found that Chinese managers leveraged an agile organizational identity to deal with status inferiority and rapid organizational changes. In summary, this research program addresses the need for a deeper understanding of social identity processes and change beyond M&A context, but also in other cross-cultural collaboration processes which involve employees who initially have various identities, practices, and cultural backgrounds.

Keywords

social identity theorysocial identity processesChinacross-border mergers and acquisitionsintergroup collaboration
Type
Chapter
Information
The Psychology of Organizational Change
New Insights on the Antecedents and Consequences of Individuals' Responses to Change
 , pp. 170 - 182
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Albert, S., & Whetten, D. A. (1985). Organizational identity. Research in Organizational Behavior, 7, 263–295.Google Scholar
Chung, G. H., Du, J., & Choi, J. N. (2014). How do employees adapt to organizational change driven by cross-border M&As? A case in China. Journal of World Business, 49(1), 78–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Damoah, O. B. O., Opoku, L., & Acquah-Coleman, R. (2015). Understanding the relative strength of the motives that influence acquisition strategy: Evidence from an emerging market. African Journal of Management Research, 23(1), 55–72.Google Scholar
van Dick, R., Christ, O., Stellmacher, J., Wagner, U., Ahlswede, O., Grubba, C., Hauptmeier, M., Hohfeld, C., Moltzen, K., & Tissington, P. A. (2004). Should I stay or should I go? Explaining turnover intentions with organizational identification and job satisfaction. British Journal of Management, 15(4), 351–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haslam, S. A., Postmes, T., & Ellemers, N. (2003). More than a metaphor: Organizational identity makes organizational life possible. British Journal of Management, 14(4), 357–369.Google Scholar
Hitt, M. A., King, D., Krishnan, H., Makri, M., Schijven, M., Shimizu, K., & Zhu, H. (2009). Mergers and acquisitions: Overcoming pitfalls, building synergy, and creating value. Business Horizons, 52(6), 523–529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2009.06.008Google Scholar
Hornsey, M. J., Grice, T., Jetten, J., Paulsen, N., & Callan, V. (2007). Group-directed criticisms and recommendations for change: Why newcomers arouse more resistance than old-timers. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(7), 1036–1048.Google Scholar
Hornsey, M. J., & Imani, A. (2004). Criticizing groups from the inside and the outside: An identity perspective on the intergroup sensitivity effect. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30(3), 365–383.Google Scholar
Hornsey, M. J., Oppes, T., & Svensson, A. (2002). “It’s OK if we say it, but you can’t”: Responses to intergroup and intragroup criticism. European Journal of Social Psychology, 32(3), 293–307.Google Scholar
Hornsey, M. J., Trembath, M., & Gunthorpe, S. (2004). “You can criticize because you care”: Identity attachment, constructiveness, and the intergroup sensitivity effect. European Journal of Social Psychology, 34(5), 499–518.Google Scholar
Junni, P., & Sarala, R. M. (2014). The role of leadership in mergers and acquisitions: A review of recent empirical studies. Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions, 13, 181–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karamustafa-Köse, G., Schneider, S. C., & Davis, J. D. (2022). Unpacking the dynamics in acquisition of capabilities: The role of identities during postmerger integration. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 35(8), 13–38.Google Scholar
van Knippenberg, D., van Knippenberg, B., Monden, L., & Lima, F. (2002). Organizational identification after a merger: A social identity perspective. British Journal of Social Psychology, 41(2), 233–252.Google Scholar
Kreiner, G. E., & Ashforth, B. E. (2004). Evidence toward an expanded model of organizational identification. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(1), 1–27.Google Scholar
Lee, E.-S., Park, T.-Y., & Koo, B. (2015). Identifying organizational identification as a basis for attitudes and behaviors: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 141(5), 1049–1080.Google Scholar
Liang, S., Lupina-Wegener, A., Ullrich, J., & van Dick, R. (2021). “Change is our continuity”: Chinese managers’ construction of post-merger identification after an acquisition in Europe. Journal of Change Management, 22(1), 59–78.Google Scholar
Liang, S., Ullrich, J., van Dick, R., & Lupina‐Wegener, A. (2021). The intergroup sensitivity effect in mergers and acquisitions: Testing the role of merger motives. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 51(8), 769–778.Google Scholar
Lipponen, J., Wisse, B., & Jetten, J. (2017). The different paths to post‐merger identification for employees from high and low status pre‐merger organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(5), 692–711.Google Scholar
Liu, Y., & Deng, P. (2014). Chinese cross-border M&A: Past achievement, contemporary debates and future direction. In Cooper, C. L. & Finkelstein, S. (eds.), Advances in mergers and acquisitions (Vol. 13, pp. 85–107). Bingley: Emerald.Google Scholar
Lupina‐Wegener, A., Drzensky, F., & Van Dick, R. (2014). Focusing on the bright tomorrow? A longitudinal study of organizational identification and projected continuity in a corporate merger. British Journal of Social Psychology, 53(4), 752–772.Google Scholar
Lupina-Wegener, A., Schneider, S. C., & van Dick, R. (2015). The role of outgroups in constructing a shared identity: A longitudinal study of a subsidiary merger in Mexico. Management International Review, 55(5), 677–705.Google Scholar
Lupina-Wegener, A. A., Karamustafa, G., & Schneider, S. C. (2015). Causes and consequences of different types of identity threat: Perceived legitimacy of decisions in M&As. In Risberg, A., King, D., and Meglio, O. (eds.), M&A Companion (pp. 354–366). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Lupina-Wegener, A. A., Liang, S., van Dick, R., & Ullrich, J. (2020). Multiple organizational identities and change in ambivalence: The case of a Chinese acquisition in Europe. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 33(7), 1253–1275.Google Scholar
Moore, F. (2016). Flexible identities and cross-border knowledge networking. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 12(4), 318–330.Google Scholar
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2021). China statistical yearbook. China Statistics Press. Available online at: www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2021/indexch.htm, last accessed May 18, 2022.Google Scholar
Nemeth, C., & Owens, P. (1996). Making work groups more effective: The value of minority dissent. In West, M. A. (ed.), Handbook of work group psychology (pp. 125–142). Chichester: John Wiley.Google Scholar
de Oliveira, R. T., & Rottig, D. (2018). Chinese acquisitions of developed market firms: Home semi-formal institutions and a supportive partnering approach. Journal of Business Research, 93, 230–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PwC Report. (2021). 2020 China M&A Market Review and Outlook (pp. 12–16). Available at: www.pwccn.com/zh/deals/publications/ma-2020-review-and-2021-outlook.pdf. Last accessed May 18, 2022.Google Scholar
Rentsch, J. R., & Schneider, B. (1991). Expectations for postcombination organizational life: A study of responses to merger and acquisition scenarios. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 21(3), 233–252.Google Scholar
Riad, S., Vaara, E., & Zhang, N. (2012). The intertextual production of international relations in mergers and acquisitions. Organization Studies, 33(1), 121–148.Google Scholar
Sarala, R. M., Junni, P., Cooper, C. L., & Tarba, S. Y. (2016). A sociocultural perspective on knowledge transfer in mergers and acquisitions. Journal of Management, 42(5), 1230–1249.Google Scholar
Sarala, R. M., Vaara, E., & Junni, P. (2019). Beyond merger syndrome and cultural differences: New avenues for research on the “human side” of global mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Journal of World Business, 54(4), 307–321.Google Scholar
Schüler‐Zhou, Y., & Schüller, M. (2009). The internationalization of Chinese companies: What do official statistics tell us about Chinese outward foreign direct investment? Chinese Management Studies, 3(1), 25–42.Google Scholar
Schweizer, L. (2005). Organizational integration of acquired biotechnology companies into pharmaceutical companies: The need for a hybrid approach. Academy of Management Journal, 48(6), 1051–1074.Google Scholar
Shimizu, K., Hitt, M. A., Vaidyanath, D., & Pisano, V. (2004). Theoretical foundations of cross-border mergers and acquisitions: A review of current research and recommendations for the future. Journal of International Management, 10(3), 307–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sommer, K. L., & Kulkarni, M. (2012). Does constructive performance feedback improve citizenship intentions and job satisfaction? The roles of perceived opportunities for advancement, respect, and mood. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 23(2), 177–201.Google Scholar
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In Worchel, S. & Austin, W. G. (eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7–24). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.Google Scholar
Turner, J. C. (1985). Social categorization and the self-concept: A social cognitive theory of group behavior. Advances in Group Processes, 2, 77–122.Google Scholar
Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D., & Wetherell, M. S. (1987). Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Ullrich, J., & van Dick, R. (2007). The group psychology of mergers & acquisitions: Lessons from the social identity approach. Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions, 6, 1–15.Google Scholar
Ullrich, J., Wieseke, J., & Van Dick, R. (2005). Continuity and change in mergers and acquisitions: A social identity case study of a German industrial merger. Journal of Management Studies, 42(8), 1549–1569.Google Scholar
Wang, H., & Miao, L. (2020). The globalization of Chinese enterprises: Trends and characteristics. Singapore: Springer Singapore.Google Scholar
Zhou, A. J., Fey, C., & Yildiz, H. E. (2020). Fostering integration through HRM practices: An empirical examination of absorptive capacity and knowledge transfer in cross-border M&As. Journal of World Business, 55(2), 1–14.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×