Too Much or Not Enough: Information Systems Integration in Post-merger Context -- A Sociomaterial Practice Perspective

During the post-merger integration phase (PMI), new information systems (IS) that span the boundaries of the previously independent organizations need to be implemented to enable a specific level of integration. Although the literature emphasizes the important role played by ISs in support of the amalgamated organizations, there is a lack of studies on the issue of boundary management at the information technology (IT) level in a PMI context. We draw on a sociomaterial practice perspective to analyze two IS implementation projects in a healthcare organization resulting from a merger of previously independent hospitals. The results suggest there is a dilemma of post-merger IT integration versus autonomy, which is reflected by the unpredictability of the implementation´s outcomes for the ISs designed to enable planned practices. The model also suggests that post-merger practices reflect the outcomes of dialectic processes of resistance to, and negotiation of, the IS configuration during its implementation.