Exploring Organizational Identity Post Mergers and Acquisitions: A Qualitative Study

Mergers and acquisitions are studied post-organizational transformations to find flaws in policies and procedures, how organizations should communicate, assimilate, and affiliate. Mergers and acquisitions in many respects contain assets and employees. The methodology chosen was qualitative to understand what strategies were successful and unsuccessful. Insufficient strategies create behavioral conflicts and set in place employee feelings of superiority and inferiority of the other organization. The population of participants in the research study comprises the midstream transportation pipeline sector of the oil and gas industry consisting of vice-presidents, directors, and managers. Sampling for the study was purposeful selecting 12 participants with past merger and acquisition experience. Data was collection was accomplished by conducting semi-structured interviews through ZOOM web conferencing. Data analysis was manual and an interpretive process adhering to pattern matching. The findings from the study suggested post-merger or acquisition, managers retained after the reduction in force faced resistance to change and other difficulties adapting to the new work environment. Emotional turbulence and reactions to the new organizational culture changed employee perception of what was consider the norms, beliefs, and values. These feelings of identity loss was a big disappointment and a sense that their needs did not matter