M&A driven IT transformation Empirical findings from a series of expert interviews in the German banking industry

Technological, economical, cultural, and political changes constantly lead to new opportunities and challenges in today’s highly dynamic business environment. Increasingly, modern enterprises leverage the strategic instrument of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) to seize these tempting opportunities and adapt to the altering market conditions. As Information Technology (IT) penetrates the business of almost all enterprises, it has to be considered during virtually any M&A endeavor. Particularly the resulting need for IT transformation in the course of the M&A post merger integration (PMI) phase represents a complex and intricate task in which problem-specific models and tangible methods are of utmost importance. In all cases, the design of such helpful artifacts requires a solid foundation and a profound understanding with regards to the specific context, drivers, and influence factors in reference to the IT transformation. Based on related literature in the field of M&A, we conducted 15 explorative expert interviews with industry partners from the German banking industry, who were involved in a bank merger. In doing so, the interview partners revealed illuminative insights into possible problems, solutions, and pitfalls occurring during the transformation of IT. This article summarizes the key findings of the semi-structured talks and compares them with approaches and statements suggested by current M&A literature resources. In this vein, the stage is set for future research in the realm of IT transformation during M&A situations which can benefit from the empirical grounded results presented within this document.