Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/33260 
Year of Publication: 
2006
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 1994
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper considers the role mergers and acquisitions have on employment. First, it considers the importance of different aspects of compensation policy and human resource management practices for distinguishing acquired and acquiring firms. Second, it examines which individuals from which firms remain with the newly created entity after the takeover. Using a unique employer-employee linked data set for France, we find that very few observable workforce or compensation characteristics distinguish acquired from acquiring firms ex-ante. Nevertheless, the human resources department seems to be quite active in the post-takeover period, with employees of the acquired firm being less likely to remain with the new entity in the short term after takeover than those of the acquiring firm and with the differences between the two types of firms disappearing after 3 years. The workers with characteristics that tend to be associated with the fastest subsequent job finding in the displaced worker literature are also those who tend to be overrepresented among the individuals who separate from their employer post-takeover. Finally, as both acquired and acquiring firms differ from firms not involved in takeover activity in a similar manner, employment authorities may be able to anticipate the regions in which takeovers are more likely to occur by looking at the financial accounts of firms with particular characteristics that have local establishments.
Subjects: 
employment
takeovers
linked employer-employee data
JEL: 
G34
J21
J23
J31
J63
L29
M51
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
268.28 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.