Resource Interdependence and Organizational Integration

What determines the level and orientation of organisational integration following mergers? Drawing on resource dependence theory, the author of this study empirically shows that, within the context of higher education, internal power relations resulting from interdependencies with the environment are decisive in this respect. From a (meta-)theoretical perspective, the book challenges two central tendencies in M&A research. Firstly, it counteracts the increasing fragmentation and isolation of approaches by taking the concept of integration back to its roots in organisation theory. Secondly, using a materialist–realist explanation, it critically examines the dominating idealist–subjectivist approach to theorising (e.g. organisational culture). Since the study empirically quantifies and visualises power potential on the levels of teaching and research units, the author suggests ways of applying his findings to numerous organisational steering issues beyond the study’s primary subject of interest.