Part I: Construct measurement: The case for umbrella constructs.-Chapter 1: Construct management in strategic management.- Chapter 2: Umbrella constructs: An overarching framework.- Part II: Umbrella constructs in the M&A field.- Chapter 3: The notion of process in merger and acquisition literature.- Chapter 4: The notion of fit in merger and acquisition literature.- Chapter 5: The notion of integration in merger and acquisition literature.-Chapter 6: The notion of performance in merger and acquisition literature.- Part III: moving forward.- Chapter 7: Umbrella constructs and the progress of the merger and acquisition field.- Chapter 8: Epilogue.

“Olimpia Meglio and Svante Schriber have made significant contributions to our understanding of M&A providing them both perspective and credibility to assess our field and its opportunities. This book joins their prior contributions to provide a timely commentary on the primary constructs examined in M&A research and their evolution, as well as future applications.”—Professor David R. King, Florida State University, USA“The insightful discussion in this book suggests that umbrella constructs can play a fruitful role in advancing the acquisition literature in a variety of ways, one of which is by helping to straddle the delicate tension between generalizability and precision. As such, the overarching message of this volume is fully in line with one of the author’s long-standing call for a methodological rejuvenation of the study of acquisitions.”—Dr. Mario Schijven, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA“The work of Meglio & Schriber provides a helpful and much needed approach to make sense of and to synthesize the expanding, yet largely disparate, body of knowledge around M&As, via a focus on key constructs.”—Prof. Satu Teerikangas, Turku School of Economics, FinlandThis book provides scholars and practitioners in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) with a solid foundation for further research. M&As continue to shape the economic landscape across the globe. While there is already a huge body of scholarly work on the subject, findings appear contradictory and academics and practitioners often struggle to understand what factors make M&As successful.Due to the lack of an agreed-upon definition, research findings appear contradictory, while in fact they are often simply not comparable. To address this, the book rethinks how we measure key umbrella constructs. It specifically focuses on the conceptualizationphase of the measurement process, often taken for granted in the current research.

Provides a critical reflection on four broad umbrella constructs that cut across the acquisition process: process, fit, integration, and performance Is the first book to get 'back to basics' in merger and acquisition literature, providing a solid foundation for future research Serves as a reference to scholars and practitioners in mergers and acquisitions