The Employees’ View on Cross-Border M&As in Japan: What do Employees Need to Speak in Favor of an Acquisition?

Despite their growing popularity, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) are said to fail frequently and have a success rate of less than 50%. M&As between companies from different cultures in general impose unique challenges, but also offer invaluable opportunities for both parties. Since Japan lags behind expectations regarding the amount of cross-border M&As, it is the more important to understand the drivers of successful cross-border acquisitions coming into the country.

In research, it has been increasingly argued that the employees have a crucial, if not decisive impact on the outcome of an acquisition. However, how the employees’ view on a merger can be successfully managed in order to leverage the M&As’ success rate remains yet unanswered. By focusing on the employees’ needs, my research seeks to contribute positively to an increase of the cross-border M&As’ success rate.

In this talk I present the final results of my dissertation focusing on empirical studies conducted in Japan. The audience will get a brief and concise overview of the results of my research and is invited to share their opinions in fruitful discussions.

Short-Bio:
Kai Oliver Thiele is a Doctoral Researcher from the Hamburg University of Technology in Germany and a scholarship holder at the German Institute for Japanese Studies. He holds an MBA degree from the University of Kansas as well as Master’s degree in Business Mathematics from the University of Hamburg. His dissertation focuses on the employees’ view on cross-border M&As in Japan. He also holds methodological research interests that address the analysis, development and improvement of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). At distinguished universities and conferences he has given presentations about his research (e.g., Academy of Marketing Science Annual Conference, Hosei University, Keio University).