The role of active minorities in the post-acquisition symbiotic integration process: A longitudinal study of a merger as part of the Greater Paris project

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In fusion typologies, symbiotic integration is considered as the most optimal and the most difficult to achieve. To better understand how companies manage to promote synergies, we propose a process-based model that takes intergroup dynamics into account by focusing on active minorities, as defined by Moscovici (1996) in the context of social psychology. In this article, we approach the acquirer and the acquiree as a more or less active majority and minority. The drivers of synergy, as well as the specific role and contribution of each of the parties, were also explored. For this, we conducted a two-year longitudinal study of a merger/acquisition carried out in the field of urban development. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, nonparticipant observation, and secondary data. We show that symbiotic integration is not based on a voluntarist approach on the part of the acquirer but rather depends on the emergence of a new situation in which the members of the acquired entity enjoy freedom of action. As a result, the symbiotic process can only take place when the acquirer relinquishes control over the achievement of objectives. The acquiree can then shift from a logic of compliance with the acquirer’s majority standards to a minority innovation approach making it possible to mobilize the skills necessary to achieve the new entity’s objectives.