Line | In an effort to explain why business acquisitions |
| often fail, scholars have begun to focus on the role |
| of top executives of acquired companies. Acquired |
| companies that retain their top executives tend to |
(5) | have more successful outcomes than those that do |
| not. Furthermore, existing research suggests that |
| retaining the highest-level top executives, such as the |
| CEO (chief executive officer) and COO (chief operating |
| officer), is related more positively to postacquisition |
(10) | success than retaining lower-ranked top executives. |
| However, this explanation, while insightful, suffers from |
| two limitations. First, the focus on positional rank does |
| not recognize the variation in length of service that |
| may exist in top executive posts across companies, |
(15) | nor does it address which particular top executives |
| (with respect to length of service) should be retained |
| to achieve a successful acquisition outcome. Second, |
| the relationship between retained top executives and |
| acquisition outcomes offered by existing research |
(20) | is subject to opposing theoretical explanations |
| related to length of service. The resource-based view |
| (RBV) suggests that keeping acquired company top |
| executives with longer organizational tenure would lead |
| to more successful outcomes, as those executives |
(25) | have idiosyncratic and nontransferable knowledge |
| of the acquired company that would be valuable for |
| the effective implementation of the acquisition. The |
| opposing position, offered by the upper echelons |
| perspective (UEP), suggests that retaining top |
(30) | executives having short organizational tenure would |
| lead to more successful outcomes, as they would have |
| the adaptability to manage most effectively during the |
| uncertainty of the acquisition process. |
| Responding to these limitations, Bergh conducted |
(35) | a study of executive retention and acquisition |
| outcome that focused on the organizational tenure of |
| retained company top executives in 104 acquisitions, |
| followed over 5 years. Bergh considered the |
| acquisition successful if the acquired company was |
(40) | retained and unsuccessful if it was divested. Berghs |
| findings support the RBV position. Apparently, the |
| benefits of long organizational tenure lead to more |
| successful outcomes than the benefits of short |
| organizational tenure. While longer tenured top |
(45) | executives may have trouble adapting to change, it |
| appears that their perspectives and knowledge bases |
| offer unique value after the acquisition. Although |
| from the UEP position it seems sensible to retain |
| less tenured executives and allow more tenured |
(50) | ones to leave, such a strategy appears to lower the |
| probability of acquisition success. |