4. Finding Continuity in a Serial Acquirer

This chapter focuses on the acquiring company. The data was collected from a 30-year-old company, which, during its life course, has undergone both a change from family ownership to investor ownership and rapid growth through a series of acquisitions. During this turmoil, the organizational identity and strategy have changed, causing organizational and emotional disorder. Thus, this chapter explores the connection between employee emotions and concerns over organizational identity, asking how acquiring organizations can signal continuity following acquisitions. Post-acquisition change is recognized as a potential identity threat, often leading employees to adopt protectionist attitudes. Nevertheless, based on social identity theory and organizational socialization, it is possible for companies to encourage organizational identification. Building on these notions, this chapter suggests how organizations can increase perceptions of continuity when undergoing constant change.