The study's expanded focus on FLMs' responses to real-time emotional and operational upheavals during M&A will shed light on their often-paradoxical role of decision-making with limited authority. This research proposes to advance the conversation on post-M&A integration by dissecting how FLMs' improvisational efforts mediate the complex interplay of emotions and operations within organisations. Through this lens, the study will elucidate the critical yet nuanced contributions of FLMs to the resilience and adaptability of organisations during the challenging post-M&A processes.

This paper presents a case study of a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) process in a factory in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic. We focus on the role of First-Line Managers (FLMs) in navigating the integration process and their impact on the integration strategy implementation. The findings suggest that FLMs' emotional management role helped employees continue working through difficult times. Operational management is important as the FLMs could adapt to changes, while the translation role is not always optimal because they do not understand the strategy properly. The paper highlights the importance of proper training and the need for clear communication of integration strategy. This case study provides valuable insights for future M&A studies, particularly in a developing country context.

Post-acquisition integration periods are interesting to investigate to understand change processes in organisations. Although many studies have been conducted on different levels of human factors inside the organisation, extant literature typically overlooks the first level in the management system - the first-line managers (FLMs). This paper stresses this gap and explores the crucial roles of FLMs in post-acquisition integration through the lens of sensemaking and sensegiving dynamics. With this in mind, this article presents an integrated study of the sensemaking and sensegiving of FLMs in the post-acquisition integration phase, in which FLMs play as both the target and the agent of the change. The paper addresses the limitations in prior research, highlighting the need for a more fine-grained understanding of how strategies are understood, interpreted and executed at lower levels of management, which potentially provides a fresh look at how M&A integration unfolds.