Corporate identity and corporate communications: the antidote to merger madness

Abstract

This article examines the potential relevance of corporate identity and corporate communication to the merger and acquisition process. Recent studies indicate that around 50 per cent of all mergers failed to produce the synergistic benefits that were expected of them. The authors argue that this failure rate may be attributable to the neglect of corporate identity and corporate communication issues and have identified nine reasons why mergers fail, chief among which are: the undue attention that is given to short‐term financial and legal issues to the detriment of long‐term identity and communication issues; inadequate recognition of the impact of leadership issues on identity and communication; and failure to secure the goodwill of a wide range of stakeholder groups common to both companies. The authors offer a template pertaining to corporate identity and corporate communication issues in the merger and acquisition process which they call the merger mix.