Developing a Decision Making Model for Selecting an IT Post-Merger Integration Strategy

M&A (Merger and Acquisitions) is a standard corporate strategy frequently used by companies seeking to secure new growth engines and gain a solid foothold in their markets in order to become more globally competitive. To achieve the original goals of M&A, the two involved parties need to invest significant time and resources in integrating all aspects of the companies. A well-planned post-merger integration of information technology (IT PMI) by the two M&A parties is considered a crucial and difficult process because IT provides a fundamental infrastructure for integration. Considering various internal and external factors, the two parties normally formulate an IT PMI strategy. The many IT PMI strategies can be categorized into four major types: Renewal, Takeover, Standardization, and Synchronization. This study aims to develop a decision making model to help merger company and IT managers select the proper IT PMI strategy. More specifically, we identify key determinants that need to be considered when selecting a proper IT PMI strategy. The relative importance of each determinant is defined by analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis. Finally, this study evaluates each IT integration strategy under the identified determinants.