A study of growth through acquisitions: Implications for the employees

Abstract

While previous research on mergers and acquisitions has been mostly focused on large to middle sized firms, this is a study of a micro company using a growth-by-acquisition strategy. In five years the company has done five acquisitions of other micro firms and grown from three to seventeen employees. This study aims at presenting how these acquisitions were managed and how the employees have experienced the process. Through semi-structured interviews and observations it was found that the acquirer´s main focus was to increase market share and improve its strategic market position, but little attention has been spent on how the employees perceive the process. In the uncertainty experienced by the employees in the turmoil of acquisitions, they express a need for (a) more communication, (b) clarity regarding issues of operative integration and (c) distinct leadership. Instead, however, the opposite has happened. As the company has grown the managers/owners have become increasingly busy and thus less visible for the employees.