The role of mindfulness on employee psychological reactions to mergers and acquisitions Available to Purchase

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the contribution of mindfulness to employee psychological reactions to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and its consequence on behavioral resistance to M&A.

Questionnaire data were collected from 114 employees of a Japanese bank that acquired a local financial institution in Thailand. Data were collected a week before the official integration began. Data were analyzed using partial least squares regression.

Employees who exhibited a higher level of mindfulness tended to report a lower cognitive evaluation of M&A and affective reaction to M&A. A lower cognitive evaluation and affective reaction were found to associate with lower behavioral resistance to M&A.

First, the findings were based on cross-sectional data. Second, other organizational and leadership factors that might influence the employee reaction to M&A are not considered in the analysis. Third, self-reported measures can be susceptible to respondent bias. Fourth, small sample size can limit the generalizability of the findings.

Mindfulness training could be considered as one alternative approach in the intervention to help employees cope effectively with anxiety toward M&A.

This research is the first that provides empirical evidence for the role of mindfulness on employee psychological reactions to M&A.