Q2. What have the authors stated for future works in "A sociocultural perspective on knowledge transfer in mergers and acquisitions" ?
Their model offers several avenues for further research. The authors recommend that future empirical studies test for these kinds of moderating effects, or at least control for the effect of such variables. Finally, future research can extend the concept of HR flexibility to include “ external ” aspects. The authors hope that their study furthers a more comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted role of sociocultural factors in M & As, and that it will inspire further theoretical and empirical studies on sociocultural aspects in this context.
Q3. What does the article suggest that facilitates the effective governance of M&As?
The authors suggest that resource and coordination flexibility in employee behavior facilitate the effective governance of M&As by supporting cultural integration.
Q4. What is the role of reward systems in the creation of cultural learning routines?
For instance, comprehensive use of reward systems that provide an incentive to comply with core norms and values is an important mechanism for social control (O’Reilly & Chatman, 1996).
Q5. What is the definition of flexibility in employee behavior?
Resource flexibility in employee behavior refers to the extent to which employees of the merging firms are willing to perform a broad range of alternative work activities during the integration process, whereas coordination flexibility in employee behavior in M&As captures the ability of merging firms to deploy employees who are willing to apply a broad range of behavioral scripts to a wide variety of work activities that support the integration process.
Q6. What can be done to help the acquirer evaluate the attitudes of target firm members?
“Human due diligence” can also help the acquirer evaluate the attitudes of target firm members (Harding & Rouse, 2007) that are likely to affect the degree of flexibility in the behavior of target firm employees.
Q7. What is the likelihood of complementarity in employee skills across merging firms?
The broader the range of alternative work activities that employees can perform, the greater the likelihood of complementarity in employee skills across the merging firms.
Q8. What does the author propose that organizational cultural differences have a negative effect on employee behavior?
The authors propose that organizational cultural differences have a negative effect on resource and coordination flexibility in employee behavior.
Q9. What is the definition of HR flexibility?
To apply the conceptualization of HR flexibility to the M&A context (Way et al., 2015; Wright & Snell, 1998), the authors define HR flexibility as the capability of the merging firms to quickly adapt their HR to changing conditions during M&A integration.