Vol. 11(2) June 2018
The Role of Organisational Culture for M and A Deals
- Qualitative Evidence from the Insurance Industry
Busse Ronald and Höfer Stephanie
In the last few decades, mergers and acquisitions (M&As)
significantly increased in numbers and volume. However, many such deals fail to
create value and to achieve the set objectives. Consequently, scholars and practitioners
are concerned with identifying those factors which are crucial for M and A success.
We add to this body of knowledge by shifting the spotlight of attention towards
the often overlooked but yet pivotal role of organisational culture. Focusing on
the ‘soft side of the business’ and following a qualitative (i.e. exploratory) methodology,
ten semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted. Our convenience sample covers
the internal management as well as the external advisory perspective in the insurance
industry. Two main contributions emerge from our investigation.
First, among other factors (leadership, time, strategic planning, communication,
staff) organisational culture is the key-driver for M&A success. Second and in contrast
to the claim of topical literature, we find that the perceived importance of corporate
culture is no longer neglected or underestimated by those involved in M&A deals.
Nevertheless, helplessness and lack of knowledge and skills impede ‘cultural integration’
and should be early addressed in the pre-merger phase.
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Making People's Lives healthier at Infra: A Case Study
Joshi Ashima
Since last two decades technological advancement has
quickened the globalization process which has caused amazing changes within and
outside the organization. Business performance is fluctuating, perplexing worldwide
and is changing speedily. Over the time, society desires have changed, changes have
influenced customers and workers too. So as to hold on the worldwide market, organizations
integrate corporate social responsibility into their business execution with the
target to fortify their intensity.
In current economy where knowledge is a critical asset and the demand for all the
talented workers has increased, employees have turned into the most imperative.
Work place wellbeing alludes to mental, emotional and social aspects of employee's
life. The aim behind developing this case study was to investigate and survey how
socially responsible orientation incorporates in human resource management and contributes
to the accomplishment of well-being of employees.
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Mobile apps usage vis-à-vis shopping habits and preferences
Girish Babu M. and Valasala N.V.A. Sai Sankar
Online marketing, e-marketing, e-commerce and digital
marketing are the buzz words and gaining importance in the modern business world.
Company website base online purchase platforms are available. Similar to middle
men or channel members, Amazon India, Flipkart, Make My Trip, Clear trip etc. work
like channel members on the technology platform. In the evolution of online marketing,
a paradigm shift is seen from web-portal buying to mobile app-based buying. Mobile
app-based buying, in fact, is growing significantly every day.
This research paper probes into the profile of the online buyers, factors influencing
the online buyers and also the factors for which the off-line buyers not willing
to go for online purchases.
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Environment Perceptions and Business Management Practices
of Forcibly Displaced Entrepreneurs: A Case Study
Swithina Mboko
This study reports on the influence of environment perception
on business management practices of refugee entrepreneurs. We make a contribution
to the rising stream of research investigating immigrant entrepreneurship through
studying refugee entrepreneurs of African ethnicity. We find that motivations to
start businesses are in line with what previous studies have established. We also
find home and host country influences on the refugee entrepreneurs perception of
the environment. One conclusion of our study is that the refugee entrepreneurs’
business practices fit the microentrepreneur’s typology. Our study showed that for
these entrepreneurs’ profit does not feature as a measure of success preferring
to focus on the flexibility that self-employment provides.
Research shows that many of the immigrant owned businesses are small businesses.
Small businesses are known to face challenges related to their nature hence there
is the need for support that authorities try to meet through various small business
assistance programs. The question we are trying to answer is whether refugee entrepreneurs
see the need to seek business development assistance. We use entrepreneurship and
small business development literature to guide our investigation.
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