Approach to the issues of leadership in the processes of companies' acquisitions

This paper presents the results of the research concerning five transactions in the pharmaceutical sector. The research aim was to diagnose an approach to the issues of leadership, which in the literature is often treated as a key success factor in the processes of acquisitions. The research showed that in the analyzed pharmaceutical companies which participated in the research little attention was paid to the issues of leadership. At the stage of due dilligence no audit of leadership competencies in the acquired company was carried out. The integration teams grouping the employees representing every transaction partner were rarely appointed. The integration processes which are of a key importance from the point of view of the transaction success are entrusted to line managers who are not prepared for them. In the companies in which the economic situation in the moment of the acquisition was not the best one, the board was changed within the first month after the merger and the CEO position was given to a person with experience in the processes of acquisitions. This fact has considerably influenced the dynamics of the integration of the merged companies and as a consequence a quicker realization of the defined transaction aims. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.