Leadership Style of Managers during Mergers in the Hospitality Industry

Abstract

This qualitative study investigated leadership styles employed by hospitality managers during mergers and acquisitions. A total of ten managers drawn from Africa and USA participated in the study.  The managers responded to five questions; what is the impact of mergers on organizations and their management? How does management communicate with employees during an M&A? How do leaders guide their followers through an M&A? Why do organizational culture changes affect the M&A outcome? Why are M&A a source of stress for employees and leaders? How do employees and leaders deal with change during an M&A?  The ten mangers living and working on two different continents shared similar views on the issues impacting M & As. Managers behavior is characterized by stress, anxiety, cultural shock and  loss of jobs during M & As. M & A benefits include access to new resources, market access and learning new techniques including management practices. The need to communicate in methodological manner was deemed important to the success of M &A transition. Positional thought and transformational leadership styles were deemed appropriate as ideal to mitigate the negative effects of M & As.

Key words: mergers and acquisitions, positional leadership, thought leadership, transformational leadership, hospitality