"Challenges for Communication Management and Public Relations in International Mergers and Acquisitions"

That conference focused on the financial crisis, economic downturn and threat of recession spreading around the globe since the second half of 2008. This time, in considering International Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), the organizers seek to emphasize the potential for disciplinary exchanges between the fields through a more positive, yet still vital, theme.

Like many other areas of business and finance, M&A deals boom when the economy is growing and contract when the economy is going through a rough patch. However, it is not only fluctuations in the global economy fluctuations that contribute to the decline in successful Mergers and Acquisitions. Even in the times of economic prosperity most mergers and acquisitions fail through because of poor strategy and/or implementation, and communication strategy is a crucial issue that is neglected in both the economic and public relations literature.

One major challenge, which can be a deal-breaker, lies in the communication strategy issues in international M&A’s because of the cultural differences of doing business in a foreign country. For all these reasons, the conference organizers would welcome not only conceptual papers on communication strategies and instruments in international mergers and acquisitions, but also case studies relevant to the conference topic (NB while the major focus is on international M&A, relevant studies of national M&A will also be considered).

Among others, case studies and papers on the following topics, which address the key issues of how to successfully communicate the M&A process (at macro, mezo and micro level of analysis), are welcome:

· employee communications during international M&A;

· differences in socio-economic systems influencing the international M&A communication strategy;

· the importance of investor relations for successful international M&A;

· managing the risk involved when the M&A bid may not succeed;

· communicating with the range of regulatory bodies that may be involved;

· communication challenges for acquisitions done by corporations from emerging economies in the developed “Western” markets;

· the advantages and challenges that come with the involvement of transnational corporations

· the importance of trust and reputation for successful M&A;

· mistakes commonly made when communicating M&A in a culturally different environment.

The best papers accepted for the conference will, subject to author agreement, be considered for inclusion in a book (in English), published in 2010, and edited by Professor Ryszard Lawniczak (NB acceptance for the conference does not guarantee of acceptance for the book, since all submissions for publication will still be required to pass the usual blind review process).

Where: Poznan, POLAND
When: April 16–18, 2010

source: UE