Table 1
Measures used across the studies unless stated differently, a 7-point likert scale from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree will be used. Manipulation checks are used for the respective series.
| Measure | Sample item | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Relative ingroup prototypicality | The group I consider to be more representative of the merged organization is ACME. | Two instruments from Rosa and Waldzus (2012) |
| Manipulation check of status | (pictorial measure: vertical scale) | Rosa and Waldzus (2012) |
| Identification with the ingroup and SC | I identify with the merged organization. | Three items from Leach et al. (2008) |
| Perceived indispensability | Economically, the merged organization needs BOLT. | Guerra et al. (2013) |
| Manipulation check for merger pattern | Both BOLT and ACME are represented in the new merged one. However, ACME is more strongly represented. | Giessner et al. (2006) |
| Manipulation check for morality manipulation | “Honest” (9-point attribute rating scale) | Leach, Ellemers, and Barreto (2007) |
| Manipulation check for information processing | While answering the questions so far, I have been focusing on answering quickly. | Rosa & Waldzus (2012) |
| Demographics (personal) | e.g., age, gender. | |
| Demographics (job-related) | e.g., actual job function, seniority. |
| Scenario part | Example |
|---|---|
| Status information | The low-status ingroup was described as founded in 1990 and domestically focused, whereas the high-status outgroup was described as founded in 1919 with worldwide focus and higher shares in the stock market. |
| Manipulation of morality (series 1) | A sentence mentioning media-covered irregularities found in the ingroup (low moral condition) vs. the outgroup (high moral condition) |
| Manipulation of functional indispensability (series 2) | A sentence mentioning holding a patent for a new technology, reflected in higher post-merger technological market share (high indispensability condition) vs no mention to patent and description of low technological market share (low indispensability condition) |
| Manipulation of merger patterns (Series 3) | Dimensions such as control of operations, top managers, corporate design and logo with equal involvement of both companies (integration-equality) or involvement of the high-status outgroup to a higher extent (integration-proportionality) |