Understanding the Perks and Pitfalls of Cross-legacy Boundary Spanning

Abstract

Scholars typically view cross-legacy boundary spanners – employees who develop and maintain social relationships with coworkers from both legacy organizations – as the key integrators in mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Organizations even formally appoint employees with cross-legacy responsibilities to support the post-merger integration process. Recent research has started to emphasize, however, how difficult it can be to reap the benefits of a boundary-spanning position. Building and maintaining formal or informal boundary-spanning ties is costly because it requires time, attention, and political savviness. To better understand the perks and pitfalls of cross-legacy boundary-spanning, the authors identify and describe its structural and sociocultural dimensions and explain how they influence cross-legacy boundary-spanning in M&A contexts. The authors argue that the two dimensions can be seen as boundary conditions to the positive relationship between cross-legacy boundary spanning and post-merger integration. This chapter highlights the potential dark side of cross-legacy boundary-spanning and proposes a multi-dimensional model to explain how cross-legacy boundary spanners can avoid the pitfalls and promote the perks of their position in support of successful post-merger integration.

Citation

Breet, S. and Glaser, L. (2022), "Understanding the Perks and Pitfalls of Cross-legacy Boundary Spanning", Finkelstein, S. and Cooper, C.L. (Ed.) Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions (Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions, Vol. 21), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-361X20220000021001