Predicting who stays and leaves after an acquisition: A study of top managers in multinational firms

This study adds to current explanations of executive fate following a merge r or acquisition by examining how executives' perceptions of merger events determine whether they stay or leave. Results indicate that executives' per ceptions of the merger announcement interactions with the acquiring firm's tap managers following the merger, and long-term effects of the merger sign ificantly influenced their decision to slay or leave. These perceptions cou ld be used to correctly distinguish between stayers and leavers in almost 8 0 percent of the cases. In addition, perceptions created when the target co mpany was acquired by a foreign multinational made it more likely that the executive would leave. This finding demonstrates that foreignness continues to be an important determinant of executive perceptions in cross-national mergers and acquisitions. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.