Mastering the Integration Chaos Following Frequent M&As: IS Integration with SOA Technology

The use of service oriented architectures (SOA) is rapidly penetrating contemporary business life based on the promise of scalable and flexible information infrastructures. However the technique is still in it infancy and many questions regarding the consequences of a shift towards this kind of IT architecture still remains unanswered. We approach the relation between SOA and another actual topic, namely corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Based on a literature review and an empirical study of five industrial companies we conclude seven relationships between properties of SOA and M&A, which should be valuable both for business professionals considering the SOA alternative and to advance the academic domain that is concerned with integration and M&A