Integration av informationssystem vid företagsförvärv

Sammanfattning: Mergers and acquisitions are common in the modern economy, where the number has increased significantly in recent decades. Despite this increase in popularity, it leads in most cases to value destruction in both short and long term. The large proportion of failures is due to many different factors. One of the most critical, but still underrepresented in previous literature is an effective integration of information systems. Studies in the high-tech sector are particularly underrepresented. This study addresses this by describing how the information systems are integrated after an acquisition between two IT consulting companies. The study is based on the experiences of people involved in the acquisition process. Eight interviews are conducted with people from both the acquiring and the acquired part. The study examines the connection between integration strategies, how the work with IS integration relates to the acquisition process, and what challenges that may arise. The study shows that the synergy effects that arise from the integration of information systems for an area that is merged must be weighed against synergy effects for the entire business when mergers take place in several places. Also, that unclear system ownership can be a challenge after the integration of information systems in mergers and acquisitions.