본 연구는 최근 WPP 등 글로벌 커뮤니케이션 그룹과의 합병을 경험한 한국 광고대행사들의 직원들이 당시 느꼈던, 그 리고 현재도 경험하고 있는 실제 업무 스타일의 변동, 회사에 대한 로열티 등에 대한 감정변화 등 합병 이후 불거진 상 황들에 대해 심층적으로 조사해 보고자 하였다. 연구 결과, 대부분의 구성원들은 영어에 대한 스트레스와 함께 실력향 상을 위한 자구노력을 다하고 있었으며, 합병 이전과 비교하여 현재 근무 중인 회사에 대한 충성도와 회사를 통한 자신 의 미래 비전에 대해 회의적인 시각을 보인 경우가 많았다. 하지만, 기획 (어카운트 매니저) 영역에서 근무하는 직원들 은 합병 후 신규 광고주 영입에 일종의 반사이익을 보고 있는 것으로 밝혀졌다. 글로벌 네트워크에 의한 유, 무형 서비 스에 대한 광고주들의 기대감이 신규 광고주 유치에 도움이 되고 있다고 대답한 것이다.
Although Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) have long been standard practice in the advertising industry, there has been a dramatic increase in their occurrence both in the United States and internationally in recent years. Korea, the seventh largest advertising market, has not been excluded from this global M&A trend. While much research has focused on M&As from the perspective of organizations, not much emphasis has been given to the human side of M&As, even though it is thought to be important for the success of the newly merged unit. This study focuses on the attitudes and perceptions of possible changes in work culture and tasks by professional employees from four Korean advertising agencies recently acquired by global groups. A total of 96 surveys were completed by professional employees from three departments (Account Management, Creative, Media). Comparisons are made between professionals from different departments, different agencies, and the number of years at an agency. In the results, it was found that many employees have been stressful regarding their English skill and newly initiated some efforts to improve their English proficiency. In addition, most of the participants answered that their loyalty to the companies has been comparatively decreased after the M&A. Finally, among diverse departments, Account managers have been taking advantage of the M&As most for recruiting new clients who generally expect that they could get some extra benefits from Global networks.
Literature Review Theoretical framework and Research Questions Method Discussion Limitations & Suggestions for Future Research
