Managing the Merger Integration Process: a Social Constructionist Perspective

Abstract

This thesis argues for the utlity of a social constructionist perspective in examining merger integration. Based on an ethnographic approach, the thesis is intended as a contribution to the merger literature and it is divided into four main parts. Part One begins with an overview of merger research, examining its theoretical assumptions and identifying two topics of focus: planning and organisational culture, covered in Parts Two and Three, respectively. It then introduces social constructionism, reviews its theoretical premises and develops a framework of analysis to use in examining merger integration. This framework poses four key themes for inquiry: language, context, power and pragmatism. These themes become the basis for structuring Parts Two and Three. Part One then proceeds to review the premises of constructionist ethnographic inquiry and to introduce the merger utilised in illustrating the theoretical arguments posed in this thesis: the merger between the Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry in New Zealand. Part Two argues for the contribution of social constructionism to understanding integration planning. It considers the dynamics of planning, the plan and planners. It examines aspects that render planning salient in merger integration and depicts the negotiative complexity of planning practice in merger management. It also offers a perspective of planning as a relational and generative practice that is part and parcel of the context in which it is undertaken. Part Two illustrates how integration planning practices are shaped by relational power dynamics that enable certain activities and practices and constrain others. Finally, it demonstrates how people in a merger formulate positions on particular planning features, specifically the pace of integration, based on an assessment of pragmatic consequences. Part Three critically examines organisational culture (arguably the most popular topic in merger integration) through two constructionist themes. The first theme argues that 'organisational culture' has become a discourse of merger integration. In other words, 'organisational culture' has become a regime of ideas and practices that conditions how people and organisations approach merger integration. This theme spans three chapters illustrating how 'organisational culture' is constructed in language, sustained through power dynamics and is pragmatically constrained when articulating with the discourse of organisational purpose. The second theme illustrates the role of context in defining perspectives of acculturation in mergers. This position offers a 'bicultural' reading of merger integration as the last analytical chapter in the thesis. Part Four represents the closing discussion to the thesis. It summarises the insights generated from taking a social constructionist approach to the topics of integration planning and organisational culture. In closing, it poses possibilities for future constructionist inquiry into merger integration.