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'How should finns decide between Partnering and M&A?' In today's globalizing economy company processes look more and more like Lego bricks in a world where company borders, national borders, and industry borders are losing their mean ing. Value chains are de constructed and re-assembled, processes are outsourced across the globe, and companies are bought and sold, split and merged at a seemingly ever increasing rate. New organizational relationships emerge and companies are increasingly forced to search for their success outside their existing boundaries. Partnering as well as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are the typical means to accomplish this. Although every merger, acqui sition or partnership is presented to the press and the shareholders with a clear rationale, the logic is not always easy to follow. How do finns decide between Partnering and M&A? And how should finns make this deci sion? These two questions are central to this thesis, and although much has been written about both Partnering and M&A, little is written about the choice between these two options for external growth. In this thesis, Hannes Saubert addresses this topic in a very clear and convincing way, build ing on an extensive and integrative literature review and an in-depth case study in the tourism industry where he enjoyed excellent access to all the different actors involved in these deci sions.
List of contents
Concepts and findings: assessment of relevant prior research
Empirical investigation: an exploratory case study
Advancement: towards a decision framework
Discussion and outlook
About the author
Dr. Hannes Säubert promovierte bei Prof. Dr. Hans P. Borgman an der European Business SchoolOestrich-Winkel. Er ist als Senior Manager im Bereich Strategy&Organization tätig.
Summary
How should firms decide between Partnering and M&A? Both represent boundary-spanning strategic thrusts related to growth. Both show shifting trends and high failure rates. Despite numerous publications in this area, literature lacks a systematic attempt to provide general decision support.
Hannes Säubert addresses the above question in a qualitative empirical investigation. He applies an exploratory case study approach building on developed theory. A conceptual framework and tentative propositions serve as theoretical foundation. Both are derived from a theory assessment covering relevant concepts of research perspectives dominating the field of inter-firm links. The hotel engagements of Thomas Cook, a leading tourism corporation, serve as case study. They cover a wide range of Partnering and M&A arrangements. The author analyzes the case findings in order to assess plausibility and potential for improvement of the theoretical foundation. As a result, he presents an advanced framework as well as testable propositions with regard to the decision between Partnering and M&A.
