Cette recherche a eu pour but principal de montrer, à travers l’exemple de l’industrie informatique dans les années 90, que la stratégie de partenariat est aujourd’hui devenue un outil essentiel pour permettre aux entreprises à la tête d’une industrie à forte innovation technologique, confrontée à des changements structurels importants, et en particulier à la désintégration menant au leadership technologique partagé, de maintenir leur position dominante. Les quatre parties du travail constituent une suite logique d’étapes contribuant chacune à valider la thèse: la partie I porte sur la synthèse des principaux courants de la littérature scientifique sur les accords de collaboration et leur relation avec l’évolution des industries. Le but poursuivi dans la partie II est de décrire les changements intervenus dans l’industrie informatique au cours des années 90 et de formuler l’hypothèse d’une relation entre ces changements et la stratégie des firmes dans le domaine des accords de collaboration. Cette hypothèse est vérifiée empiriquement dans les parties III et IV à l’aide d’une banque de données sur les accords de collaboration. La partie III du travail présente les résultats descriptifs et la partie IV les résultats analytiques permettant de valider l’hypothèse.

Les alliances stratégiques et les fusions-acquisitions sont théoriquement considérées aujourd’hui comme de véritables leviers de création de valeur. Cette création de valeur prend différentes formes, à savoir essentiellement une valeur stratégique, une valeur substantielle, une valeur institutionnelle et une valeur financière (notamment actionnariale). C’est cette dernière qui retient spécifiquement notre attention. L’objectif de ce travail de recherche, après avoir analysé les résultats des travaux empiriques réalisés sur l’impact des annonces d’acquisitions portant sur la performance boursière, est de répondre à deux questions fondamentales. La première question est de savoir si à un horizon plus ou moins lointain, la performance boursière des acquisitions coïncide avec la performance réelle, et si par conséquent cette forme de croissance externe peut se justifier par la motivation financière des dirigeants ou actionnaires. La deuxième question est de savoir si cette hypothèse formulée se vérifie également pour le cas des alliances, établissant par la même une comparaison avantageuse en faveur de l’une ou l’autre des options de croissance externe. Nos résultats montrent en définitive que sur le court terme l’annonce d’une alliance a un impact négatif sur la performance contrairement à l’annonce d’une fusion ou d’acquisition, tandis que d’autre part sur le long terme, il n’y a aucun impact positif (impact neutre) sur la performance financière qu’il s’agisse de l’alliance stratégique ou de la fusion-acquisition. Nous expliquons ce résultat par un phénomène de « création de valeur compensatoire » dans le cadre d’une intention stratégico-financière. / Strategic alliances and mergers & acquisitions are theoretically now considered as real levers of value creation. This value creation takes different forms, essentially strategic value, substantial value, institutional value and financial value (including shareholders). This latter holds our attention specifically. The objective of our research, after analyzing the results of empirical works focused on the acquisition announcements impact on the stock market performance, is to answer two fundamental questions. The first question is to know that if, on a more or less distant horizon, the stock market performance of acquisitions coincides with the actual performance and so if this form of acquisitions can be justified by the financial motivation of CEOs or shareholders. The second question is to know that if this hypothesis is also true in the case of alliances, establishing by the way an advantageous comparison in favor of one or other of the external growth options. Our final results show that in the short term the announcement of an alliance has a negative impact on performance as opposed to the announcement of a merger & acquisition, while other hand on the long-term, there is no positive impact (neutral impact) on financial performance whether it be the strategic alliance or merger & acquisition. We explain this result by the phenomenon of "creation of compensatory value" in the context of a strategic and financial plan.

<p>The claims that we have entered a new society, with a new typeof business logic and view on business relationships, are becoming more and more commonplace. In this context it seems appropriate to try and detect signals of change in societal behavior, possibly indicating a transition from one society to another. This essay deals with this very issue. By means of an analysis of the public discourses in 1993 and 1999 respectively, the authors try to establish evidence for or against such a societal shift. The analysis is focused on the discourse, as it was conveyed in the business press, surrounding two separate merger propositions, both including Volvo as one of the parties involved. The results indicate a societal change, albeit a moderate one. Also, no fundamental change in business logic could be detected. This would suggest that the hype around the New Economy might be just that, a hype.</p>

<p>Background: The dependency on knowledge and competence today is more critical than earlier. Today, companies need to put more effort into identifying and filling knowledge gaps, which can be achieved through mergers and acquisitions. It is important that the companies succeed in coordinating their operations after this process of change. Out of a theoretical point of view it can be argued that companies need to balance between different coordination mechanisms that result in standardized and flexible coordination respectively. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this Master Thesis is, in the context of a merger, to investigate and analyze which coordination mechanisms that are used in knowledge-intensive companies, how these coordination mechanisms are combined and what explains the chosen combination. </p><p>Scope: The study has been accomplished through qualitative research with interviews within the consultancy firm Cap Gemini Ernst&Young supplemented by interviews with the IT-consultancies WM-data and DataVis as well as the industrial firm SAAB Bofors Dynamics. </p><p>Results: The combination of coordination mechanisms used has been identified, which has given a possibility to study changes in the balance. The balance of coordination in the consultancy firms has relatively moved towards a higher degree of standardized coordination. We believe this is due to the consultancy firms attempts of raising their productivity with reduced customer adaptation and creativity as a consequence. SAAB, on the other hand, is moving towards a more flexible coordination but from a starting-point with a more standardized coordination in an effort of acheiving a higher degree of customer adaptation and creativity.</p>

The claims that we have entered a new society, with a new typeof business logic and view on business relationships, are becoming more and more commonplace. In this context it seems appropriate to try and detect signals of change in societal behavior, possibly indicating a transition from one society to another. This essay deals with this very issue. By means of an analysis of the public discourses in 1993 and 1999 respectively, the authors try to establish evidence for or against such a societal shift. The analysis is focused on the discourse, as it was conveyed in the business press, surrounding two separate merger propositions, both including Volvo as one of the parties involved. The results indicate a societal change, albeit a moderate one. Also, no fundamental change in business logic could be detected. This would suggest that the hype around the New Economy might be just that, a hype.

Background: The dependency on knowledge and competence today is more critical than earlier. Today, companies need to put more effort into identifying and filling knowledge gaps, which can be achieved through mergers and acquisitions. It is important that the companies succeed in coordinating their operations after this process of change. Out of a theoretical point of view it can be argued that companies need to balance between different coordination mechanisms that result in standardized and flexible coordination respectively. Purpose: The purpose of this Master Thesis is, in the context of a merger, to investigate and analyze which coordination mechanisms that are used in knowledge-intensive companies, how these coordination mechanisms are combined and what explains the chosen combination. Scope: The study has been accomplished through qualitative research with interviews within the consultancy firm Cap Gemini Ernst&amp;Young supplemented by interviews with the IT-consultancies WM-data and DataVis as well as the industrial firm SAAB Bofors Dynamics. Results: The combination of coordination mechanisms used has been identified, which has given a possibility to study changes in the balance. The balance of coordination in the consultancy firms has relatively moved towards a higher degree of standardized coordination. We believe this is due to the consultancy firms attempts of raising their productivity with reduced customer adaptation and creativity as a consequence. SAAB, on the other hand, is moving towards a more flexible coordination but from a starting-point with a more standardized coordination in an effort of acheiving a higher degree of customer adaptation and creativity.

Cross-national merger and acquisition (M&amp;A) activity is common and is argued to be a strategic tool for the growth of multinational corporations. Yet, M&amp;A activity has a high failure rate which theorists have explained being due to cultural clashes. Previous research has explained these clashes being due to cultural distance. Other studies have focused on the extent to which the firms are culturally integrated and its relation to cultural clashes. In this study we investigate the relation between cultural distance and the extent to which the firms are culturally integrated as we believe that this relation in turn influences how cultural clashes are perceived by managers. As the human side of M&amp;A has become of great interest within research we stress the importance of understanding what happens with managers in the organization during the post-acquisition process. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to investigate the managers’ perception of cultural clashes, in relation to the perceived extent of cultural integration and perceived cultural distance, in cross-national mergers and acquisitions. In order to achieve an in-depth understanding of a series of cross-national M&amp;As and to answer the purpose of this thesis, a qualitative case study design was used. Semistandardized interviews were made with ten managers from a Swedish firm that has gone through a series of cross-national M&amp;As involving Swiss, French and German managements. The findings show that managers’ perception of cultural clashes differs depending on to what extent two firms are culturally integrated and in relation to the cultural distance between the two firms. No matter if high or low cultural distance managers perceive few cul-tural clashes if the extent to which the firms are integrated is low. If the cultural integration, on the other hand, is high and the cultural distance is high, the cultural clashes are perceived as many. Our findings indicate that cultural clashes are perceived differently depend-ing on how they affect the managerial role and the organizational behaviour. We refer to these clashes as implicit agreements and explicit statements. Clashes in implicit agreements are evolved from behaviour deeply rooted in national culture and corporate culture. These clashes have minor effects on the managerial role and the organizational behaviour. Never-theless, managers need to be aware of the differences and adapt to the preferred behaviour when interacting with the acquiring firm’s management. Explicit statements, on the other hand, affect the managerial role and organizational behaviour and lead to cultural clashes that conduce to frustration, lack of motivation and inefficiency. These clashes are more ap-parent when the extent of culturally integration is high. Therefore, the acquiring firm should not attempt to assimilate its target company in cross-national M&amp;As.

<p>Cross-national merger and acquisition (M&A) activity is common and is argued to be a strategic tool for the growth of multinational corporations. Yet, M&A activity has a high failure rate which theorists have explained being due to cultural clashes. Previous research has explained these clashes being due to cultural distance. Other studies have focused on the extent to which the firms are culturally integrated and its relation to cultural clashes. In this study we investigate the relation between cultural distance and the extent to which the firms are culturally integrated as we believe that this relation in turn influences how cultural clashes are perceived by managers.</p><p>As the human side of M&A has become of great interest within research we stress the importance of understanding what happens with managers in the organization during the post-acquisition process. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to investigate the managers’ perception of cultural clashes, in relation to the perceived extent of cultural integration and perceived cultural distance, in cross-national mergers and acquisitions.</p><p>In order to achieve an in-depth understanding of a series of cross-national M&As and to answer the purpose of this thesis, a qualitative case study design was used. Semistandardized interviews were made with ten managers from a Swedish firm that has gone through a series of cross-national M&As involving Swiss, French and German managements.</p><p>The findings show that managers’ perception of cultural clashes differs depending on to what extent two firms are culturally integrated and in relation to the cultural distance between the two firms. No matter if high or low cultural distance managers perceive few cul-tural clashes if the extent to which the firms are integrated is low. If the cultural integration, on the other hand, is high and the cultural distance is high, the cultural clashes are perceived as many. Our findings indicate that cultural clashes are perceived differently depend-ing on how they affect the managerial role and the organizational behaviour. We refer to these clashes as implicit agreements and explicit statements. Clashes in implicit agreements are evolved from behaviour deeply rooted in national culture and corporate culture. These clashes have minor effects on the managerial role and the organizational behaviour. Never-theless, managers need to be aware of the differences and adapt to the preferred behaviour when interacting with the acquiring firm’s management. Explicit statements, on the other hand, affect the managerial role and organizational behaviour and lead to cultural clashes that conduce to frustration, lack of motivation and inefficiency. These clashes are more ap-parent when the extent of culturally integration is high. Therefore, the acquiring firm should not attempt to assimilate its target company in cross-national M&As.</p>

ĮVADAS: Įmonių sujungimai ir įsigijimai yra brangus ir sudėtingas verslo pasaulio reiškinys, pastaruoju metu vis dažniau pasireiškiantis ir valstybiniame sektoriuje. Daug mokslinių tyrinėjimų atlikta šioje srityje nustatant esminius sėkmės faktorius, lemiančius efektyvią įmonės veiklą po integracijos. Kokybės vadyba integruojantis įmonėms deja nėra dominuojanti tema moksliniuose darbuose. DARBO TIKSLAS IR UŽDAVINIAI: Šio darbo tikslas yra įvertinti kokybės valdymą integruojantis įmonėms darbuotojų ir vadovybės požiūriu. METODIKA: Tyrimo metodika rėmėsi literatūros apžvalgoje identifikuotais svarbiais strateginio valdymo, visuotinės kokybės vadybos ir verslo tobulumo principais kurie padėjo sudaryti šios srities teorines rekomendacijas bei klausimynus. Kiekybinis ir kokybinis tyrimai buvo suplanuoti ir atlikti tiriant Šveicarijos ir Danijos medicininės įrangos gamybos įmonių susijungimą ir praėjus 33 mėnesiams po oficialios datos. Tyrimo duomenys atskleidė darbuotojų (34 respondentai) ir vadovybės (3 respondentai) požiūrį į integracijos eigą, pointegracinę įmonės veiklą ir kokybės vadybą. Kiekybiniai duomenys buvo išanalizuoti naudojant Chi-kvadrat testą (požymių nepriklausomumo kriterijų) ir z-testą (tikimybių lygybių kriterijų). REZULTATAI IR IŠVADOS: Tyrimas parodė, kad pagrindinė sujungimo motyvacija buvo strateginio pobūdžio – produktų portfelio plėtra. Tai labai sustiprino Šveicarijos padalinį, kuriam buvo sudarytos geresnės sąlygos siekti komercinių tikslų. Tačiau... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / INTRODUCTION: Mergers and acquisitions are common and complex phenomenon in the world of business also moving to the public sector lately. Vast amounts of research have been made to look for the critical success factors for successful post-integration performance. Quality Management in M&As has not been dominating on the agenda though. Due to relevance to today’s business success and lacking presence on research agendas the topic was chosen to be explored more deeply. AIM OF STUDY AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this master thesis is to evaluate the merger process and Quality Management role seen from a perspective of both employees and management. METHODS: Strategic Management, Total Quality Management and Business Excellence principles served as a framework in designing qualitative and quantitative surveys. The surveys were executed in Danish and Swiss medical device company’s affiliates merged 33 months before the research. The data demonstrates perception of employees (34 respondents) and managers (3 respondents) with regards to the merger’s course, impact on the new company’s performance and the Quality Management in the merger process. Quantitative data was analyzed using Chi-square test for association and two proportion z-test for independence of probabilities. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The surveys revealed a strategic merger with product portfolio expansion as a main motive which substantially strengthened Swiss subsidiary with new capabilities and more business... [to full text]

This paper uses event study methodology to present evidence that acquirer announcement effects for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the American Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry are insignificant. In order to reach this conclusion, this paper both examines existing literature on the topic and manipulates available data on public companies in the M&E industry. It also uses this data to investigate the extent to which different factors influence the acquirer announcement effects. These factors include: the type of financing used for the deal, recent mega-merger failures in the M&E industry, M&A strategy (expansion vs. diversification), as well as target size, country, and sub- industry. The results show that none of these factors have a significant impact on announcement effects.