No Captain on Deck: A New Understanding of Leadership in Cross-Border Post-M&A Integrations

. This study challenges the structured integration process traditionally applied during the post-M&A stage. It highlights how post-acquisition integration activities were managed when the CEO was absent. The study was conducted from 2020 to 2021 in exceptional cases where the organization underwent integration phases during the COVID-19 crisis, and the CEO was absent. All three cases are Chinese-Western acquisitions. Drawing on the qualitative empirical research method, new innovative evidence is unveiled. This study suggests that the Chinese servant-leadership style of Wu Wei implies M&A integration in times of crisis. The CEO’s unexpected absence during the COVID-19 crisis had an unforeseen impact. Servant-leaders at the mid-organizational level stand up ad hoc to replace the CEO while trying to overcome the crisis for the sake of the continuity of the M&A. It shows that leadership in crisis should not be forced or burdened with the effortless striving, whereas a more relaxed approach is, in the end, more sustainable. Moreover, this study identified how the COVID-19 crisis became an opportunity. These new servant-leaders anticipated a lower M&A speed of integration. The low speed provided the M&A stakeholders the necessary time to rethink and digest a more sustainable post-M&A organization. The outcomes of this study open a new venue for scholars to further explore the leadership implications in the pace of cross-border post-M&A integration. Furthermore, some empirical recommendations for post-M&A integration in times of crisis are provided.