Merger, she wrote: Improvising on the script of identification processes during mergers

The social identity approach has been dominant in describing the main psychological processes that come with mergers. The main storyline of social identity processes includes the aim of a positive self-concept, the categories that define oneself, and how these categories help to make sense of a particular situation. Three studies are reviewed that provided nuances to this storyline through combining the social identity approach with the sensemaking approach. In these cases, the organization members - so to speak - improvise on the standard script of the social identity approach in the ways they made sense of the merger and how they responded. The consequences of such a mixture of social identity and sensemaking approaches for managing mergers are discussed in terms of sensemaking, sensegiving, sensebreaking, and sensehiding. Copyright © 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.