Gaining employee trust after acquisition: Implications for managerial action

Acquisitions often have a negative impact on employee behaviour resulting in counter productive practices, absenteeism, low morale and job dissatisfaction. It appears that an important factor affecting the successful outcome of acquisitions is top management’s ability to gain employee trust. Explores a number of variables which bear an impact on managerial trustworthiness. Among them, frequent communication before and after acquisition, and the already existing quality of employee relations seem to play the most important role. Therefore, a carefully planned, employee‐centered communication programme, together with a good level of employee relations, seem to form the basis for a successful outcome as far as employee relations in the face of acquisitions is concerned.