Running head: PREDICTORS OF CHANGE IN POST-MERGER IDENTIFICATION Predictors of Change in Post-merger Identification Throughout a Merger Process: A Longitudinal Study

Adopting an intergroup perspective, this research was designed to examine predictors of change in post-merger identification throughout a merger. Data were collected over three points of measurement from 157 students of a newly merged university. The first questionnaire was distributed 4 months after the implementation of the merger; the following two were distributed six months and a year thereafter. With its longitudinal design, this study replicates and extends past results by revealing predictors of change in organizational identification for members of the dominant and subordinate organization throughout a merger process. As predicted, post-merger identification increased only slowly for both members of the dominant and subordinate organization. Multilevel models for change confirmed that the predictive effect of pre-merger identification on post-merger identification for members of the dominant organization dissipates over time. The effect of ingroup typicality unexpectedly varied as a function of organizational membership and was stable over time. Perceived fairness in the merger process positively influenced post-merger identification across members of both organizations; over time the effect of fairness amplified. (word count: 170)