Impact of Regional Rural Bank Mergers in Odisha: A Multidimensional Study of Post-Merger Problems, Prospects, and Employee Satisfaction

The amalgamation of RRBs in Odisha is one of the steps that have been taken to ensure efficiency, sustainability, and rural outreach, as well as competitiveness in the field of banking. This research paper evaluates the impact of post-merger changes on organizational effectiveness and employee satisfaction among the amalgamated RRBs in Odisha. In the process of conducting the study, the major challenges associated with post-merger changes, opportunities, as well as employee issues have been identified based on qualitative and quantitative analysis. Primary data was collected from 286 employees of the merged RRBs in Odisha through questionnaires and interviews. The secondary data was collected from the annual reports, NABARD publications, RBI publications, and government banking data between 2018 and 2025. It is clear from the findings that nearly 68.4% of the workers experienced stress and insecurity about their positions following the merger. However, 72.1% reported an improvement in the level of technology and banking services offered since the merger. Despite these setbacks, however, the merger presented many opportunities including expansion of branches, better credit distribution, appropriate capitalization, financial inclusion in rural communities, and sound risk management practices. In terms of employee satisfaction, it was discovered that only 61.7% of the participants reported medium-level job security and career development satisfaction, while a high level of dissatisfaction persisted in workloads and organizational communication. According to the regression analysis results, there exists a positive relationship between organizational support system and the satisfaction level of employees, whose value is 0.74. The findings of the study suggest that although RRB mergers in Odisha have brought many organizational benefits in the long run, proper HR management practices and employee engagement strategies are needed for sustainability.