Change

In many cases mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are disruptive events that cause immense uncertainty, leading to increased levels of human anxiety. Change in any form is unpredictable and unstable and when experienced in M&A can be ruthless, influencing processes that discourage and even terminate routine and ritualistic behaviors. In this chapter, different models of change are recognized for their implications on human behavior and how this can be managed more effectively. Emotional outcomes are activated by the feelings of intense anxiety, loss, and stress that mergers provoke in those involved, which may lead to withdrawal behaviors and form a resistance to change. Resistance is a phenomenon that slows the change process by hindering its implementation. Understanding the reasons why individuals resist change that leads to a new organization being formed is therefore important if they can be encouraged to transfer their identities and embrace the developing shared meaning of the new organizational culture. A focus on different elements of the justice framework is considered throughout. For example, I discuss the role of employee involvement, how this can help reduce organizational resistance and create a higher level of psychological commitment among employees toward the proposed changes. Uncertainty has traditionally been considered a dis-preferred state which motivates people to engage in coping strategies aimed at reducing these perceptions. A critical factor in the management of uncertainty is the value of communication and how much an organization recognizes and invests in effective communication mechanisms during the transforming presence of M&A. In these terms the influence of interactional justice is also considered.