Why Diverse Top Management Teams Break up in Post-acquisition Periods

QC 20181106
This paper proposes a complementary explanation behind the turnover of target’s top managers in post-acquisition periods. Although human capital and acquisition implementation literature describe managerial retention as desirable, empirical studies have reported significant managerial turnover in acquisition of high-tech and knowledge intensive firms. Borrowing some insights from the team diversity literature, the paper examines the ex-ante diversity among top managers of knowledge-intensive and high-tech firms as an antecedent of their turnover in post-acquisition. We argue that diversity reduces the coordination efficiency necessary to transfer knowledge and facilitate post-acquisition organizational integration, and managers belonging to such teams are more likely to be replaced. Empirical analysis drawing on 2164 top managers in 297 Swedish firms shows that managerial position diversity as a separation, pay disparity and industrial tenure diversity as a variety indeed are associated with managerial exit in three years after the acquisition.

By the author/editor: Aghasi, Keivan; Lougui, Monia; Broström, Anders ...; Colombo, Massiom ...

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