The role of Human resource management in serial acquisitions in Luxury & Fashion industry

The paper investigate the influence of HR activities during the post-M&A integration management in serial acquisitions in creative-intensive industries, like the fashion industry, and the influence on organizational performance. Many studies analyze two main dimensions, which improve the organizational performance: the Knowledge sharing (KS) and the Employee retention (ER). In creative-intensive industries there is a high risk related to lose creative talents, but, submitting creative talents to an intensive knowledge sharing, there is a risk to change and influence too much them, losing the uniqueness and specificity of the group of designers. To avoid the homogenization of the creative visions of the different companies in the same group, human resource management in serial acquisitions often chooses an ambidextrous approach, more tight and replicative on commercial and marketing functions, more loose and path-dependent on production and creative functions. Analyzing several acquisitions of one of leading fashion Italian company, the paper propose a model, where ER is critical in creative positions, and the KS is critical in managerial and market knowledge. Results clarify the assumption of the real value of human resources that involve the knowledge and competencies during the M&A process’ stages in creative-intensive companies