The identity of wealth management employees in a Finnish bank

Abstract

This qualitative study aims to give insight on how an organization formulates its identity during on ongoing merger and acquisition (M&A). The success rate for M&As is surprisingly poor: depending of the studies 50-80 % of M&As fail to achieve their goals. Therefore, this study specifically considers the importance of the “human factor” in M&As, which is usually evaluated through hard financial data. The study seeks to answer the following research question: How do employees in wealth management make sense of their present relationship with the larger organization that wealth management belongs to? The theoretical construction is based on social identity theory, organizational commitment, sensemaking and research of M&As. This case study is conducted as a semi-structure interviews with eight employees representing different teams in the wealth management organization. The results show that M&A process is executed mainly from the financial aspects and the human factor is left with little attention. By ignoring the human factor, organizational commitment and its positive outcomes like increased job satisfaction, performance, reduced turnover and flexibility are not reached. Finally, this approach can endanger the whole success of M&A. The results of this study also indicate, that by concentrating on leadership activities and participation of employees during the M&A process, as well as on open and clear communication of vision and goals, it is easier for the employees to adjust and accept the change and the new organizational identity.