Transformational Leadership as a Success Factor in a Merger

Leaders are in a position to conduct mergers and acquisitions (M&As) within their industries in order to increase market share and competitive advantage. When a merger or an acquisition is undertaken, especially when it involves competitor companies, a question arises whether transformational leadership is paramount to ensuring success. Cooperation between merging groups is more likely when it involves a vertical integration (Mueller & Sirower, 2003). Examples of these types of M&As include Google's acquisition of YouTube and Hewlitt-Packard's acquisition of Electronic Data Systems. Cooperation between two groups is much more challenging when the two groups were competitors prior to the merger.