Antecedents of marketing integration in cross-border mergers and acquisitions Evidence from Malaysia and Indonesia

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine operational-level implementation issues regarding mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in general, and resource combination and integration at the functional marketing level in particular. Design/methodology/approach - The paper introduces four factors (i.e. collaboration, interaction, marketing synergy, and the realignment of marketing resources) that support successful M&A marketing integration and enhance overall M&A performance. Findings - The results indicate that marketing synergy and the realignment of marketing resources contribute significantly to the extent of integration. At the same time, the authors find a significant but negative relationship between the interaction dimension and the speed of integration. Originality/value - The cultural integration of firms that feature different management styles and organizational cultures has been recognized as a particularly challenging aspect of cross-border M&As. This study explains factors that contribute to effective marketing integration in M&As.