Use your favorite search engine on the Internet and look for postings of technology-driven mergers and acquisitions. What are the reasons given for the mergers and acquisitions? What is described as coming from each of the organizations? Are there sound reasons given for the merger and acquisition that are likely to lead to success? What might be missing?
Not all mergers and acquisitions are successful. Find an example of a merger or acquisition where technology contributed to its failure to produce desired outcomes. What reasons were given for the failure? What actions might have helped ensure success? Hint: Many mergers and acquisitions fail because needed information is not processed. Integrating information systems and accounting systems is often difficult.
Find an article or website that provides guidelines for integrating and blending people and/or systems in an alliance where technology is a motivating factor. What do you think of the advice given?
What advice would you give a manager who was chosen to lead a technology-based joint venture project between two organizations of relatively the same size? Remember, in joint ventures, two or more firms combine equity and form a new third entity. Joint ventures commonly have very detailed agreements covering what each party is to provide and expect and how they are to operate within the joint venture. What do you believe are the key integration issues that must be addressed? What would be easier in the joint venture than in a merger? What would be more difficult? Why?