Transformational Leadership as a Success Factor in a Merger

Leaders are in a position to conduct mergers and acquisitions (M&As) within their industries in order to increase market share and competitive advantage. When a merger or an acquisition is undertaken, especially when it involves competitor companies, a question arises whether transformational leadership is paramount to ensuring success. Cooperation between merging groups is more likely when it involves a vertical integration (Mueller & Sirower, 2003). Examples of these types of M&As include Google s acquisition of YouTube and Hewlitt-Packard s acquisition of Electronic Data Systems. Cooperation between two groups is much more challenging when the two groups were competitors prior to the merger.

Autorentext

Mergers of competitor firms that achieve the original intent of the acquisition are deemed successful. Although the structure of the firms undergoing a merger is important, the prevailing leadership traits of the leaders who have participated in successful and unsuccessful mergers have not been adequately addressed.