To avoid the vacuum, companies are increasingly turning to dedicated integration
managers supported by transition teams.
The role of the integration manager is to guide the integration process,
making sure that timelines are followed and that key decisions are taken
according to the agreed schedule. The first task is to spell out the logic of the
new business model and translate this into operational targets. This is impor-
tant in international acquisitions where ‘big picture’ statements from the cor-
porate center may not mean much in a different national and business context.
They should also champion norms and behaviors consistent with new stan-
dards, communicate key messages across the new organization, and identify
new value-adding opportunities (Ashkenas, et al., 1998; Ashkenas and Francis,
2000).
An important aspect of the job is helping the acquired company to under-
stand how the new owner operates and what it can offer in terms of capabili-
ties. The integration manager can help the new company take advantage of the
owner’s existing capabilities and resources, forge social connections, and help
with essential but intangible aspects such as interpreting a new language and
way of doing things. Acquired companies typically do not know how things
work in the corporation that now owns them, and the integration manager
can also help the parent to understand the acquired business and what it can
contribute.
A major source of frustration in many of the deals is not so much what the
parent wants the newly acquired unit to do, but what it wants to know.
Therefore, another role for the integration manager is that of an information
‘gatekeeper’ between the two sides, protecting the acquired business from the
eager embrace of an owner who unintentionally could undermine what makes
the business work. When Nokia acquires small high tech venture companies,
one of the rules is that all requests for information from the parent go to the
integration manager. He or she will decide if and how the unit should comply
with the request.
In most acquisitions, the integration manager is supported by integration
teams and task forces. These teams should have a clear mandate, with targets
and accountability for a specific area where integration is required. Since many
of these teams are expected to start work on the first day after the acquisition
is closed, the identification of potential members should ideally be an outcome
of the due diligence process. HR professionals are often key members of the
team because many of the team’s activities will have implications for human
resource policies and practices.
Who else should be appointed to the transition team? It may be attractive
to leverage functional and business unit managers by adding this transition
project role to their responsibilities. However, the mixing of line responsibility
with transition task force roles often means that neither is done well. Customers
do not like to wait until the transition team reaches consensus. On the other
hand, integration teams should not be staffed by second-tier managers or by
HRM in Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions 105