Integration of Different ERP Systems: The Case of Mergers and Acquisitions

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) are very important for the external growth of companies and tend to have a very high profile in the media. The recent proposed acquisition of Yahoo by Microsoft is a case in point. However, research in finance has shown that many M&A initiatives fail in terms of the expected financial outcome. The reasons for failure include cultural problems and a lack of operative integration, which can be at least partially related to problems with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems integration. Despite the high importance and profile of M&A in the finance literature, surprisingly little IS research has looked at how different ERP systems might be integrated in the case of M&A. Therefore this paper suggests a preliminary model for ERP systems integration in M&A. The model is based on the research literature related to M&A, ERP systems, and interviews with M&A professionals.