IS Antagonism: Explaining Negative Value Creation from IS Integration in M&A

IS integration problems are often an important determinant of negative value creation in Mergers and Acquisitions. To date, these problems are commonly attributed to mis-aligned Business and IS Integration Strategies, flawed preparation or execution or negative synergies, but the role of IS itself is underemphasized. Based on a case study and expert interviews, we propose a theory addressing this issue. Our explanation focuses on the concept of IS Antagonism, referring to the destructive interaction between previously independent information systems, which occurs when these are operationally combined. This concept offers novel explanations beyond strategic misalignment and considers the nature of the information systems themselves in the integration phase. IS antagonism is omni present in M&A, which has the practical implication that we need to account for its value destructing characteristics in pre-merger synergy predictions and by securing necessary IS resources to mitigate during execution.