Although the financial and strategic aspects of mergers and acquisitions are well researched, little work has been done on the human resource development implications of this popular topic. The purpose of this case study research project was to explore the timing and scope of HRD involvement in four organizations recently involved in a merger or acquisition, by using three theoretical models as lenses. The results demonstrated that HRD normally was not involved in the initial decision-making to merge or acquire, even though post-deal HRD initiatives, particularly related to change management, were perceived as critical indicators of success.The strategic and financial performance implications of mergers and acquisitions are a popular and well-researched topic within the literatures specific to those interests. However, studies of the point at which strategic human resource development (HRD) issues enter into the decisions to merge, acquire, or be acquired, and the subsequent decisions are not often found in mainstream academic and practitioner journals. In a brief historical recap of merger and acquisition activity, Hitt, Harrison, Ireland and Best (1998) noted that, 'acquisition activity began to increase in 1992 and 1993 with more dollars invested in acquisitions during 1994, 1995, and 1996 than any previous year' (p. 91). Lipin (1997, found that in 1996 alone, over $1 trillion was spent on acquisitions globally with $660 billion in the USA. Thomson Financial Securities Data (KPMG, 1999) estimated the annual global merger and acquisitions transactions total at more that $2.2 trillion. These figures represent purchases and stock transfers but do not include the costs of displaced workers, training expenditures, reinvention or

No abstract