Strategy research on mergers and acquisitions has focused on classifying mergers into related, unrelated categories and recently according to strategic motives. By contrast, we focus on how the combined resources of the merging firms interact to create value. We identify five primary types of...

Purpose – When a merger or an acquisition fails, usually integration problems or overpayment gets the blame. The authors illustrate that a common cause of failure is the traditional notion of synergy that exacerbates the overpayment and integration problems. This synergy usually leads to the...