Using Visualization to Facilitate Knowledge Acquisition and Dissemination for M&A

Acquisition researchers pointed out that to understand real world complexity it is necessary to look at mergers and acquisitions (M&A) from different perspectives. Thus, we investigated the presentation of M&A research in a dynamic and illustrative way that provides rare insights into the potential outcomes of acquisitions. Through an iterative process and much trial and error, it was found that large amounts of information can be combined in a single page to facilitate overall understanding and enable instantaneous comprehension of complex data. In the context of this research, using such illustrations enhanced both the seller’s perspective and that of the potential buyers in the M&A process. Visualization techniques have been accepted as a key tool to manage knowledge for strategic purposes and clearly the addition of the visualization diagrams enhanced this case-based acquisition research, in addition to being found useful and relevant in the decision-making process for those players in industry considering entering into the M&A process.