BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH TO M&A: SHAPING EMPLOYEE RESILIENCE FOR COMPANY’S SUCCESS

Purpose. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) trigger complex and profound organisational changes. Despite their potential, many M&A still fail to achieve the expected economic outcomes. Building on prior research emphasising the critical role of employee resilience for the success of M&A, this study investigates the factors influencing employee resilience during the post-merger integration phase (PMI). Methodology. In our computer-assisted web interview, we asked office workers representing 295 M&A in Poland to evaluate their experiences in the PMI phase regarding employee resilience, job satisfaction, communication effectiveness, visionary leadership, and organisational identification. Then, we applied a general linear model with Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimation to find behavioural factors predicting employee resilience. Additionally, we introduced interaction terms in the model to test the moderating effects of company size and gender on these relationships. Findings. The findings reveal that employee resilience is significantly influenced by job satisfaction, visionary leadership, and organisational identification. Notably, the positive impact of visionary leadership is more pronounced in larger organisations. These results offer valuable insights for managers and M&A advisors, highlighting key areas to ensure smoother M&A integration processes.