The role of internal corporate communication during organizational acculturation of acquired companies
Huei Ling Janice WONG
10.25440/smu.12300983.v1
https://researchdata.smu.edu.sg/articles/thesis/The_role_of_internal_corporate_communication_during_organizational_acculturation_of_acquired_companies/12300983
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<td><p>A review
of the existing literature on M&A (mergers and acquisitions) pointed to
the relevance of internal communication during the integration phase when the
cultures of the acquired and acquiring companies interact, a process termed
organizational acculturation. Internal corporate communication (ICC) has been
conceptualized previously to be the communication between two stakeholder
groups: strategic management and employees. As research on ICC in the context
of acculturation is limited, this research stems from a curiosity about what
the roles of ICC are after an acquisition. It seeks to understand the ways
employees of acquired companies respond to ICC as they adapt to another
culture, and to find out how they can be better supported during this period
of change. This study contributes to the theory development of ICC by
providing empirical examination of the phenomenon in real-life settings. It
investigates ICC through the perspectives of multiple stakeholders who had
experienced M&A by means of a qualitative inductive research. The
findings confirm ICC’s cognitive role as a conveyor of information and in
uncertainty reduction after an acquisition, but raise questions about its
aspirational affective objective to promote a sense of belonging or
commitment amongst employees. This is because the interpretation of ICC
during acculturation is subjective: the meanings of the ICC co-created by the
stakeholders during ICC consumption could turn out differently from, and even
contrarily to, the meanings intended by managers during ICC production. In
addition, it was found that informal acculturation leaders emerged as an
important stakeholder group in ICC. This research offers an alternative
perspective to ICC. Although the production of ICC is centrally managed, the
consumption of ICC is an interpretive phenomenon that cannot be controlled by
management. The results of this study underscore the point that ICC needs to
be understood not only as a linear transmission of messages between two
stakeholder groups, but also as a dynamic complex phenomenon where
meaningmaking takes place constantly through continual formal and informal
social interactions amongst multiple stakeholders. The practical implication
of this point is that M&A strategic managers and internal communication
professionals should not only focus on the production and delivery of ICC.
They should also consider the consumption of ICC and provide a conducive
participative environment for all stakeholders where the meanings of ICC can
be contested, negotiated and constructed.</p></td></tr></table><p></p>
2023-11-02 03:11:14
Organizational acculturation
Internal corporate communication
Organisational Behaviour