This chapter digs deeper into the theory and practice of why and how
emotions emerge during mergers and acquisitions. The chapter discusses
emotions from a cognitive appraisal theory viewpoint, and examines them
in practice through a case study of a Finnish–German acquisition where
employees were invited to reflect on their emotions regarding
integration. The findings suggest that acquisitions raise several
emotions, both positive and negative, both in the acquiring and acquired
companies. These emotions are triggered by events employees perceive as
personally relevant in the workplace. The conclusions offer managers
ideas on how to foster positive emotions at different organisational
levels to enable smoother and swifter integration following an
acquisition.