This Handbook is a very timely contribution to organization and business studies. Most calls for longitudinal research are made in sections of published work that deal with limitations of the study or suggestions for further research. This book places longitudinal research methods at center stage. With its practical, hands-on approach it guides us how to design a longitudinal study in and around organizations - whether qualitative or quantitative - and how to implement it. I warmly recommend this Handbook to ambitious senior and junior researchers. It makes the commonly presented excuses for not undertaking longitudinal research completely redundant.' - Rebecca Piekkari, Aalto University, School of Business in Helsinki, Finland'This is a very timely book that fills an important gap in the field of research methods. So far very little attention has been paid to longitudinal research methods, while the usefulness of this type of research has often been discussed in many papers and conferences. Insights provided by scholars who have been doing this type of research provide useful guidelines for anyone interested in research methods from senior scholars to young researchers and PhD candidates. This volume will serve as an excellent complement to the existing range of books on research methods.' - Pervez Ghauri, King's College London, UK This innovative Handbook demonstrates that there is no single best approach to conducting longitudinal studies. At their best, longitudinal research designs yield rich, contextualized, multilevel and deep understanding of the studied phenomenon. The lack of resources in terms of time, funding and people can pose a serious challenge to conducting longitudinal research. This book tackles many of these challenges and discusses the role of longitudinal research programmes in overcoming such obstacles. This book shows how longitudinal research methods enable the understanding of dynamics, mechanisms, causalities and interrelationships of organizational and business concepts in context and in relation to time. It discusses the richness and versatility of longitudinal research and offers, to students and experienced scholars alike, numerous viewpoints, reflections and personal accounts about conducting longitudinal research, from planning and fieldwork to reporting and managing of research projects. Contributors: L. Aarikka-Stenroos, E.A. Alfoldi, P. Dawson, P. Eriksson, A. Halinen, M.E. Hassett, R. Hoy, T.D. Little, T. Mainela, C. Mari, O. Meglio, M.-J. Oesterle, E. Paavilainen-Mantymaki, Y. Ploudre, M. Rhemtulla, H.N. Richta, M.A. Sartor, J.P. Selig, T.W. Taris, Z. Vincze, C. Welch

Taking a fresh and much-needed perspective on the management of international acquisitions, this book focuses on socio-cultural integration, and in particular the importance of emotions and values. The authors build on the human-centric and typically Nordic approach to mergers and acquisitions by presenting rich empirical cases of cross-border acquisitions conducted by leading Nordic multinationals. This book goes beyond merely stating that successful human integration leads to sociocultural convergence and presents how this can actually be accomplished. The authors offer theoretical approaches and practical solutions which have the potential of improving employee motivation and well-being, and in doing so, ultimately enhancing the chances of successful acquisition outcomes. Providing concrete examples of successful practices for managing socio-cultural integration and facilitating employee commitment, this book will appeal to both scholarly and practitioner audiences.