Mergers and acquisitions: does organizational socialization matter?

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between the helpfulness of organizational socialization practices and organizational commitment (OC) during the post-merger integration period. Drawing on questionnaire data collected from two acquired firms in Turkey, the results show that training programs have a positive impact while observation and social activities have a negative impact on the OC of employees during the post-merger integration period. The implications for human resource development field are specifically discussed.

Keywords:

• mergers and acquisitions
• information acquisition
• organizational socialization
• OC
• HRD

Acknowledegments

I would like to thank the editor, Prof. Alexandre Ardichvilli, and the three anonymous HRDI reviewers for their many valuable suggestions in the development of this manuscript.