Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have become a prominent internationalization and growth strategy of today’s global business landscape. However, the practice faces significant failure in terms of value creation. To this end, the post-merger integration of information systems (IS) is critical for the failure rate of M&As due to the complexity and ambiguity of how and what systems should be consolidated. Research has been carried out to provide frameworks illustrating IS integration methods and the relationship between business strategies and IS integration strategies but omits potential factors that influence the level of IS integration. Hence, the aim of this study is to examine what factors influence how information systems are integrated in cross-border M&As. This was carried out through a qualitative multiple-case study of 9 Swedish multinational corporations with recent M&A activity. The study finds that there are five IS integration methods, one of which was added by this study in order to cover all levels of how IS are integrated. Additionally, a mixture of factors was found to influence specific IS integration methods where the M&A context, design of the IS integration, and organizational characteristics were on a general level found to be most influential. This suggests previous findings focused on alignment of business strategies and IS integration strategies need a nuanced view to further explain the failure rates of M&As.

Bakgrund: Förmågan att kunna lokalisera ljud är en binaural process som försvåras i samband med hörselnedsättning, eftersom tillgången till akustiska ledtrådar begränsas. Hörapparattillverkare strävar efter att främja användarnas tillgång till dessa ledtrådar genom nya innovationer. Den vanligaste modellen av hörapparat är i dagsläget bakom-örat-apparaten med högtalarenhet i hörselgången (RIE). Modellens mikrofonplacering bakom örat tillåter inte användaren att utnyttja öronmusslans akustiska egenskaper som hjälper vid ljudlokalisation. En hörapparattillverkare har därför tagit fram en ny teknik (M&RIE) som implementerar en ytterligare mikrofon placerad i hörselgången som bland annat syftar till att gynna användarens förmåga att lokalisera ljud. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka ljudlokalisationsförmågan i horisontalplan med de två högtalarenheterna “M&RIE” och “RIE” hos normalhörande vuxna. Metod: 18 normalhörande deltagare genomförde tre lokalisationstest med respektive teknik. Signalerna i testen bestod av ett pulserande brus, en biltuta samt en ringklocka. Resultat: RIE presterade generellt bättre än M&RIE i lokalisationstestet vid samtliga signaler. En mindre andel bak-fram-förväxlingar skedde vid lokalisation med RIE än med M&RIE. Slutsatser: Den begränsande faktorn att M&RIE behöver anpassas med täta domer leder till nackdel i lokalisationsförmåga vid anpassning för mild hörselnedsättning. Undersökningen indikerar att fördelen av en öppen anpassning hos RIE är större än fördelen av en extra mikrofon i hörselgången för normalhörande deltagare vid horisontell ljudlokalisation. / Background: The ability to localize sounds is a binaural process that is limited by hearing loss due to a decreased access to acoustic cues. Hearing aid manufacturers strive to promote users' access to these cues through new innovations. Currently, the most common type of hearing aid is the behind-the-ear device with the speaker unit located in the ear canal (RIE). The model's microphone placement behind the ear does not allow the user to take advantage of the acoustic properties of the pinna, which aid sound localization. Therefore, a hearing aid manufacturer has developed a new technology (M&RIE) that implements an additional microphone placed in the ear canal, which aims to benefit its users' ability to locate sounds. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the ability to locate sound in the horizontal plane using the two speaker units "M&RIE" and "RIE" in normal-hearing adults. Methods: 18 normal-hearing participants performed three localization tests with each technology. The signals in the tests consisted of a pulsating noise, a car horn, and a bicycle bell. Results: RIE generally outperformed M&RIE in the localization test for all signals. A lower percentage of back-front-confusions occurred in localization with RIE than with M&RIE. Conclusions: The limiting factor that M&RIE must be fitted with occluded domes leads to a disadvantage in the localization ability when fitted for mild hearing loss. The study indicates that the advantage of an open-fit in RIE is greater than the advantage of an extra microphone in the ear canal for normal-hearing participants in horizontal sound localization.

Engaging in M&A is a common corporate strategy and deals are often motivated by synergies, the concept that the value of the combined entities is greater than the sum of their standalone values. However, it is often difficult to capture synergistic value in reality and increasing the probability of a successful acquisition requires a thorough assessment of potential synergistic effects pre-acquisition. In this thesis, we have analyzed the strategic rationale, synergies, and valuation methods used in acquisitions of industrial software companies. Through multiple case studies comprising empirical material from interviews, valuation models and other transaction-related documents, we have studied five bolt-on acquisitions, three of which were completed by subsidiaries of Marrow and the remaining two by an industrial software company under private equity ownership. Main conclusions from the study are: • The foremost strategic rationale and source of synergy is revenue enhancements through acquiring technology and leveraging established sales channels to cross-sell and accelerate market access for the target’s products • A prevalent cost synergy is consolidation and/or renegotiation of contracts with third party software providers whose products are used in industrial software development • Financial synergies are not explicitly estimated nor valued • Valuation is conducted using both the DCF and multiple method with a varying degree of sophistication in the underlying estimations, ranging from a granular bottom-up approach for each line item to a top-down approach based on experience and intuition Lastly, the results indicate that synergies may to a greater extent be a function of the strategic rationale rather than a function of industry. However, acquisitions of industrial software companies seem to be underpinned by the same strategic rationale, namely revenue enhancements through leveraging sales channels and cross-selling. Thus, the corresponding synergies may be comparatively more common in this industry. / Att genomföra förvärv är en vanligt förekommande företagsstrategi och affärer motiveras ofta av synergier, konceptet att värdet på det sammanslagna företaget är större än värdet på summan av de enskilda företagen. Dock är det ofta svårt att realisera värdet av synergierna i praktiken och det krävs därför en grundlig utvärdering av potentiella synergieffekter innan förvärvet för att öka sannolikheten för ett lyckat förvärv. I denna uppsats analyserar vi de strategiska motiven, synergier samt värderingsmetoder som används vid förvärv av företag inom industriell mjukvara. Genom flertal casestudier bestående av empiriskt material från intervjuer, värderingsmodeller och transaktionsrelaterade dokument har vi studerat fem till¨aggsförvärv, tre av vilka genomfördes av dotterbolag till Marrow och de resterande två av ett företag inom industriell mjukvara under ägarskap av private equity. De huvudsakliga slutsatserna från studien är: • Den främsta strategiska rationalen och källa till synergi är intäktsförbättringar genom förvärv av teknologi och utnyttjande av etablerade säljkanaler för att korsförsälja samt accelerera marknadstillgången för det förvärade företagets produkter • En framstående kostnadssynergi är konsolidering och/eller omförhandling av kontrakt med tredjepartsleverantörer vars produkter används för att utveckla industriell mjukvara • Finansiella synergier är varken explicit estimerade eller värderade • Värdering utförs med både DCF och multipelmetod där graden av sofistikering i de underliggande estimaten varierar, från att granulärt estimera varje post till överslagsestimat baserade på erfarenhet och intuition Slutligen, resultaten indikerar att synergier kan i större utsträckning vara en funktion av den strategiska rationalen snarare än en funktion av industri. Emellertid ter det sig att förvärv av företag inom industriell mjukvara motiveras av samma strategiska rational, nämligen intäktsförbättringar genom utnyttjande av säljkanaler och korsföräljning. Därmed kan de korresponderande synergierna vara komparativt mer frekvent förekommande i denna industri.

The term mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is a collective name for a certain type of financial transaction, in which two organizations become a single entity (Rosenthal 2002, Seo & Hill 2005, Silhan 1994). In the post-M&A transaction process, the phase of integrating the organizations together emerges. These strategies can either be to absorb the acquiring organizations into the acquirer's entity or let the acquiring organizations stay fully preserved as stand-alone organizations. Another integration strategy includes transforming both organizations, where both parties adapt to each other (Marks & Mirvis 2010).  Despite the vast number of resources poured into the field, M&A transactions still have a high faliure rate (Homburg & Bucerius 2006, Marks 2001, Saunders et al. 2009). A failed M&A transaction does not only result in the loss of financial capital for the involved organizations but could also lead to people losing their jobs and potential environmental consequences. Because of this organizations become less efficient and therefore must spread their resources on activities that do not yield a positive result (Marks & Mirvis 2010, Schweiger & Goulet 2005). With Boateng & Lodorfos (2006) uncovering how “culture plays a key role in theintegration process and consequently the overall success of M\&As" and Hofstede (2001)claims that organizational culture are possible to manipulate. With these key statements,the purpose of this study is to investigate organizational culture and its role in theintegration process. The following research questions were created: 1.How do managers from different organizational cultures perceive the same integrationstrategy into a knowledge-centered organization? 2.How can an acquiring organization work with different organizational cultures during anintegration? In the thesis, we studied multiple organizations, the "umbrella organization" whichspecializes in conducting M&A transactions as a strategy for growth, and some of the organizations they have acquired and are undergoing integration into the umbrella organization. The thesis was conducted with a mixed method with a survey inspiredmostly by Schweiger & Goulet (2005) and Hofstede (2001) combined with semi-structured interviews to enable us to examine certain integration factors and cultural dimensions thatwe used in order to find correlations between them. In combination with this, we investigated how all the organizations perceived the integration to transpire based on theintegration framework by Marks & Mirvis (2010) and if organizational culture played a rolein how an organization should customize these strategies. Our findings suggest that having employees within certain cultures can affect the perception of how one sees the integration strategy, indicating that the umbrella organization and the acquired organizations are not aligned in their perception of the integration strategies. In order to enhance the effectiveness and potential success of integration we propose that it could be beneficial to customize the integration approach and strategy depending on each individual M&A transaction. Limitations of this study can be connected to the quantitative method since the results are restricted to a small sample size from one case organization as well as only investigating the correlation and not the causality between variables. / Termen mergers and acquisitions (M&A) är ett samlingsnamn för en viss typ av finansiell transaktion, där två organisationer går ihop och blir en enda enhet (Rosenthal 2002, Seo & Hill 2005, Silhan 1994). I processen efter M&A transaktioner uppstår fasen med att integrera organisationerna tillsammans. Dessa strategier kan antingen vara att absorbera de förvärvande organisationerna i förvärvarensenhet eller låta de förvärvande organisationerna förbli helt bevarade som fristående organisationer. En annan integrationsstrategi inkluderar att transformera båda organisationerna, där båda parter anpassar sig till varandra (Marks & Mirvis 2010). Trots den stora mängd resurser som läggs på att studera M&A transaktioner har de fortfarande en hög misslyckande grad (Homburg & Bucerius 2006, Marks 2001, Saunders et al.2009). En misslyckad M&A transaktion leder inte bara till förlust av finansiellt kapital för de inblandade organisationerna utan kan också leda till att människor förlorar sina jobb och potentiella konsekvenser för hållbarhet. På grund av detta blir organisationer mindre effektiva och måste därför sprida sina resurser på aktiviteter som inte ger ett positivt resultat (Marks & Mirvis 2010, Schweiger & Goulet 2005). Boateng & Lodorfos (2006) avslöjade hur "kultur spelar en nyckelroll i integrationsprocessen och följaktligen den övergripande framgången för M&As" och Hofstede (2001) hävdar att organisationskulturen är möjlig att manipulera. Med dessa nyckelpåståenden är syftet med denna studie att undersöka organisationskultur och dess roll i integrationsprocessen. Följande forskningsfrågor skapades: 1.Hur uppfattar chefer från olika organisationskulturer samma integrationsstrategi in i en kunskapscentrerad organisation? 2.Hur kan en förvärvande organisation arbeta med olika organisationskulturer under en integration? I avhandlingen studerade vi flera organisationer. Den förvärvande organisationen, "paraplyorganisationen", är specialiserad på att genomföra M&A transaktioner som en strategi för tillväxt. Examensarbetet har genomförts med en blandad metod genom en undersökning inspirerad till mestadels av Schweiger & Goulet (2005) och Hofstede (2001) kombinerat med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Detta för att vi ska kunna undersöka vissa integrationsfaktorer och kulturella dimensioner som vi använt för att hitta samband mellan dem. I kombination med detta undersökte vi hur alla organisationer uppfattade att integrationen skett baserat på integrationsramverket av Marks & Mirvis (2010) och om organisationskulturen spelade en roll i detta, samt hur paraplyorganisationen skulle kunna anpassa dessa strategier beroende på organisationernas olika kulturer. Våra resultat tyder på att olika kulturer uppfattar integrationen på olika sätt trots att den ska vara densamma. Detta indikerar att paraplyorganisationen och de förvärvade organisationerna inte är samordnade i sin uppfattning om integrationsstrategierna. För att förbättra integrationens effektivitet och potentiella framgång föreslår vi att det kan vara fördelaktigt att anpassa integrationsstrategin beroende på varje enskild M&A-transaktion. Begränsningar av denna studie kan kopplas till den kvantitativa metoden eftersom resultaten är begränsade till en liten urvalsstorlek från en fallorganisation samt endast undersöker korrelationen och inte kausaliteten mellan variabler.

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This study investigates the effect of the value of financial flexibility on bidder’s merger and acquisition (M&A) performance, including the differences between domestic and cross-border M&As and the effect of the financial crisis. Using data gathered between 2005-2012 of 3,882 M&As with the bidder from developed Europe or the U.S., OLS regressions are used to predict the effect of value of financial flexibility on the bidder’s cumulative abnormal returns (CARs). Findings reveal partial evidence to support a positive effect of the value of financial flexibility and the cross-border effect on bidder’s M&A performance. Collectively, these findings increase understanding of the interdependence of financial flexibility and investments.

Företag är i dagens tillvaro ständigt på jakt efter tillväxt och överlevnad. En metod för att lyckas med detta som har börjat ske mer och mer frekvent de senaste åren är att företag köper upp andra företag i form av ett företagsförvärv. Men forskning och litteratur har samtidigt pekat på att företagsförvärv i mer än 50 procent av fallen inte har hjälpt företag att nå fram till rena ekonomiska vinster. Trots detta har antalet företagsförvärv fortsatt att öka år efter år, och ökningen pågår än. Mycket forskning har tittat på en specifik aspekt av företagsförvärv, nämligen den kulturella aspekten. Forskare menar att kulturkrockar och andra problem med kulturen kan ha varit ett av problemen som påverkat och lett till den låga grad av framgång som har nåtts. Samtidigt finns det en bransch som har växt explosionsartat den senaste tiden, nämligen IT-branschen. Informationsteknik har utvecklats mycket i samband med det moderna samhällets tillväxt och det har nu till och med blivit en källa för rikedom som företag mer än gärna tar del av. Inom IT-branschen blir företagens kultur en viktig del att titta på, eftersom en dålig kultur kan få stora konsekvenser om den kunskapsrika personalen påverkas på ett negativt sätt. Denna studie avser därför att ta kännedom av hur svenska IT-företag som genomgått ett företagsförvärv förhåller sig till kulturen och kulturskillnader mellan företagen. I studien har integrationsprocessen undersökts genom intervjuer och skriftliga förfrågningar med åtta personer från sju olika företag inom IT-branschen. I uppsatsen har det också lagts fokus på företagens motiv bakom det gällande förvärvet. Dessutom har företagens årsredovisningar studerats. Resultatet visade att många av de förvärvande företagen absorberade det uppköpta företaget, med vilket menas att det förvärvade företagets arbetsprocess och kultur förändrades för att likna det nya moderbolagets. Undersökningen visade att de mest lyckade företagsförvärven hade ekonomiska motiv i grunden och att majoriteten av de med strategiska motiv ännu inte visat på någon framgång. / Companies today are in constant pursuit of market growth and survival. One possible method to achieve this, M&A, has become more frequent over the years as more and more companies acquire one another. At the same time, researchers have been pointing to the fact that mergers and acquisitions have been failing more than 50 per cent of recorded cases. Despite this, the number of M&A has had a continuous growth that is still going on today. At the same time, the IT-sector has experienced significant growth over the last years. Information technology has developed alongside the modern society’s advancement and has become a source of income for the corporate world. The Swedish IT-sector has been through a number of M&A:s as of late, and with numerous scientists pointing out possible cultural difficulties that can occur during mergers and acquisitions, this area becomes interesting to study. This essay seeks to explore how Swedish knowledge based IT-companies work around these cultural differences between the companies. Eight interviews have been held with mainly CEO:s, discussing their view of the cultural integration between companies during the acquisitions. Questions have also been asked about their motives behind the decision to go through such an expensive affair. The result showed that while the majority of the interviewed companies had a strategic motive, they were not the most successful. Instead, it was the organizations with economic reasoning that generated the most financial success. The study also showed that the most frequent form of integration was absorption.

證券公司之獲利情形，受市場影響甚巨，為了避免台股之因景氣循環、台海兩岸及政治因素所造成之系統性獲利風險，證券公司利用跨國購併，來規避上述風險，似乎是國內券商一致的觀念。 本研究以個案研究的方式，討論證券業進行跨國併購時，所應注意的事項，研究結果發現： (1)跨國購併，對於自營業務，可以有效避險，但須走出亞洲。對於經紀業務，無法有效避險，但基於拓展市場的觀點，國內券商仍有跨國購併的需求。 (2)以價值法、獲利能力分析法及比較法來評價是具參考價值的，但無法量化的部分仍須設法列入評價模型。 (3)此類型購併活動，避險難度高，本研究所設計之匯率及股價避險模型，並無法有效的避險。 (4)投資溢價所形成的商譽，對股東權益的影響也需要列入評估，方可為公司及股東帶來最大利益。 本研究建議，可以為此類購併評價作業擬定標準作業程序及評價事項檢查表，以避免作業時的遺忘及疏漏。 / The bull or bear markets have a great effect upon the profitability of a securities company. In order to avoid the profitability variability from business cycle, cross-Strait problem and the political affairs, the securities companies have a common consensus to deal with the international M&A. This paper uses case study method to discuss the matters needing attention when a securities company deals in the M&A. The study results are: (1)We can avoid the securities trading risks by international M&A, besides investment in Asia. For brokerage business, international M&A can’t decrease the risk effectively, but securities companies need to extend the market base through international M&A. (2)Valuation by value method, DCF method and compare method are contributive, and non-countable factors need to be put into the valuation model. (3)This kind of M&A is difficult to hedge; the hedge transaction designed by this case can’t hedge effectively. (4)The Goodwill, which is from investment premium, will affect the stockholders’ equity. The effect should be considered to maximum the stockholders’ equity. Our studies also advise the securities company to prepare the standard M&A operating procedure and the valuation item check-list to avoid the misplacement and carelessness when dealing with M&A.

本研究的目的，在於檢視購併案產生後，企業的報酬是否會受到平均數復歸（Mean reversion）的影響，而逐漸回復到產業的平均報酬。並且分析主併公司與被併公司佔雙方總資產比例的高低差異，所受到的不同影響程度。 本次研究的樣本採用1987～2006年中的美國電子電機產業共77件購併案，並依照主併公司佔雙方總資產的比例不同，分成為兩個群集。將兩群集做比較分析。實證結果顯示，兩個群集均有顯著的平均數復歸現象。而主併佔雙方總資產比例較高的群集，在購併第一年即有顯著的優於產業平均報酬，而主併與被併資產相近的群集，則是於第四年開始才有顯著的績效改善。根據實證結果，我們做出以下的結論： 1.企業的報酬具有平均數復歸的特性，表現優良的公司會被他人學習，而使整體產業平均報酬逐漸提升，漸漸蠶食原先與產業平均之間的差距；相反的，表現不佳的公司亦透過學習，逐漸改善自己的績效，也使的整體產業平均報酬上升，最後雙方都將趨向產業的平均水準。 2.當研究者要分析企業遭受偶發性事件（如購併）的影響時，應當考慮平均數復歸的所帶來的效果。如果忽略了平均數復歸所帶來的效果，將會對事件產生的影響給予錯誤的解讀。 3.面對購併績效的研究時，必須移除平均數復歸的負面效果，如此才得以正確估計購併後的績效表現。且此時主併公司資產佔雙方資產比例較高者，於購併第一年就有明顯的績效改善的效果，而雙方資產相近者，則在購併成立後第四年開始才有較佳的績效表現。 / The purpose of this research is to look over the return of enterprise can receive influence from mean reversion on post-merger performance. And it analyzes the degree of influence on acquirer companies with different proportion in total assets of both acquirer and target companies. The sample of this research adopts 77 cases of electronic and electrical equipment industry of U.S.A. in 1987- 200, take according to the proportion of total assets of acquirer company in both total assets of acquirer and target company, divide into two clusters. Make comparative analysis of these two clusters. According to the empirical results, we make the following conclusions: 1.The return of enterprises has characteristic of mean reversion. Both well performed companies and worse performed companies will move toward the whole industry's average return. 2.As the researcher wants to analyze the influence of enterprises suffered from the sporadic incident (such as M&A), they should consider the phenomenon of mean reversion. Take off the negative result of the mean reversion in order to estimate correctly for the exactly performance after M&A. 3.The acquirer companies which total assets have a higher proportion in both acquirer and target companies, will have superior to industry average return apparently in first year, and the acquirer companies which total assets close to the target companies, will have apparent improvement in performances until the fourth year.

Mergers and acquisitions play an important role in international financial markets, which explains why this research area attracts of lot of attention from academics, bankers, and investors. Generally, in takeovers, two firms merge in order to achieve specific strategic and business objectives. The ultimate goal is often, but not always, the creation of shareholder value. In many cases, the creation of shareholder value is not the primary objective of the managers, however, which is one of the reasons why takeovers have been associated with the destruction of value in several existing studies. Instead, many M&A decisions are a function of managerial behaviour. In this thesis, I investigate the drivers of M&A activity, and consider both purely rational (neo-classical) and behavioural reasons as managers’ motivations for getting involved in M&A transactions. The thesis’s main body consists of three empirical studies that investigate how M&A activity is driven by macro-economic forces, managerial behaviour and board networks. Chapter 3 investigates whether merger waves are driven by macro-economic determinants and financial markets; Chapter 4 tests whether envy among CEOs has any explanatory power over the appearance of merger waves; Chapter 5 looks at whether board networks affect the relative merits of acquisitions and the probability of acquiring firms in “linked” industries. More specifically, Chapter 3 tests the extent to which US and UK merger waves are driven by macro-economic and financial market factors. Besides the analysis of domestic M&A activity, I also study the drivers of cross-border acquisitions between the UK and the US. I disentangle M&A activities according to how they are financed, and test whether managers follow market timing strategies when engaging in M&A transactions. I find evidence that domestic takeovers in the US and in the UK are highly correlated with the credit cycle and moderately correlated with the business cycle. I also test wave patterns in US and UK merger waves, and find that the merger waves in the two countries are significantly related to each other. Chapter 4 considers the view that irrational managerial behaviour could trigger UK merger waves. In particular, I assume that CEOs assess their own situation relative to those of their peers. If a CEO earns less than his peers, he becomes envious. Since it is established in the literature that firm size and executive compensation are positively correlated, CEOs have an incentive to engage in size-increasing mergers in order to decrease any compensation differential. Cross-sectional envy should therefore be considered as a potential explanation for merger waves. In an interdisciplinary approach, I develop a new measure for envy that is based on theories borrowed from the sociology area. My results from comprehensive tests with this new measure show that envy is unlikely to be an explanation for UK merger waves. Chapter 5 uses social networking theory to examine possible benefits for the acquirer from being well-connected. I assume that strong board networks are associated with better and faster access to information. Building on this rationale, I hypothesize that well-connected acquirers make better acquisitions due to reduced information asymmetries between them and the target. This chapter examines whether board interlocks between the acquirer and the target, existing prior to the acquisition, are associated with superior cumulative abnormal returns for the acquirer. Using centrality measures from social networking theory, I test whether firms that are well-connected make better acquisitions, as measured by the announcement returns of the acquirer. I find acquirer-target board interlocks to be significantly and positively associated with the acquirer’s cumulative abnormal returns. Centrality measures, however, turn out not to have any significant impact on the acquirer’s stock price reaction. Lastly, I show that acquirers are significantly more likely to acquire firms from industries with which they are “linked” via board members that have multiple directorships.