Measuring Information System Integration in the Post-Merger Phase from a Multiple-Stakeholder Perspective

Abstract

While information systems (IS) have been a valuable tool to coordinate the daily activities of a company, ensuring the good performance of IS integration has become one of the most critical tasks in a merger and acquisition (M&A). M&A projects are complex in terms of the integration activities and the degree of communication required among numerous stakeholders from different parties with distinct objectives. A few studies on M&A have explored the existence of relatively divergent viewpoints between stakeholders from different hierarchies and departments that could cause conflicts. This paper attempts to examine the IS integration from the perspective of multiple stakeholders, including CEOs, IS managers, and business managers of the merged companies in the post-merger phase. Based on a review of literature from different fields, a measurement framework of IS integration is created and verified with different stakeholders involved in M&A cases in the banking industry in Taiwan. A good integration among stakeholders leads to successful M&A systems integration and project management. Results reveal the differences among multiple stakeholders` measurements and provide some empirical and academic conclusions.

作為協調企業每日活動的重要工具，資訊系統的良好運是企業併購過程相當關鍵的任務。企業併購之所以複雜，是因為它涉及各企業活動的整合、涉及跨部門的溝通，需要兼顧利益關係人之間分歧的目標。此研究針對企業併購後，以不同利害關係人─包含執行長、資訊長、業務經理─的觀點來檢視企業併購過程的資訊系統整合。本研究首先從各種領域的文獻當中、整理出資訊系統整合的評估準則框架，接著以台灣銀行產業作為實際案例，訪問利害關係人對系統整合的評論。本研究完整呈現不同利害關係人對資訊系統的不同觀點，所整理的結論也將可作為產業界與學術界下一步研究之基礎。