Is speed of integration really a success factor of mergers and acquisitions? An analysis of the role of internal and external relatedness

Previous research on mergers and acquisitions has neglected the issue of speed of postmerger integration by and large. This paper argues that there are benefits and detriments associated with speed of integration. Thus, in some situations speed may be highly beneficial whereas in others it may be harmful to the success of a merger or acquisition. It is argued that the benefits and detriments of speed of integration depend on the magnitude of internal and external relatedness between the merging firms prior to the merger or acquisition. Results from a survey of 232 horizontal mergers and acquisitions show that speed is most beneficial when external relatedness is low and at the same time internal relatedness is high. In contrast, speed is highly detrimental in the case of low internal and high external relatedness. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.