Speed in Acquisitions: A Managerial Framework

The advantage of speed is often invoked by academics and practitioners as an essential condition during post-acquisition integration, frequently without consideration of the impact earlier decisions have on acquisition speed. In this article, we examine the role speed plays in acquisitions across the acquisition process using research organized around characteristics that display complexity with respect to acquisition speed. We incorporate existing research with a process perspective of acquisitions in order to present trade-offs, and consider the influence of both stakeholders and the pre-deal-completion context on acquisition speed, as well as the organization’s capabilities to facilitating that speed. Observed trade-offs suggest both that acquisition speed often requires longer planning time before an acquisition and that associated decisions require managerial judgement. A framework for improving manager decisions during acquisitions is discussed and its implications for managers and research summarized.