"Kicked by the same kangaroo": metaphors deployed in tragic tales of New Zealand firms' acquistions in Australia

Abstract

The premise of this thesis is that metaphor matters because language matters. Consistent with the increasing interest in language in organizational studies, this thesis analyzes metaphors in the media narratives of 'tragic' New Zealand acquisitions of firms in Australia. The aim of the thesis is to provide an in-depth qualitative analysis of the metaphors utilized in the media. For example, New Zealand firms such as The Warehouse have been metaphorically described as "kicked by the same kangaroo" after they acquired Australian firms. Such metaphors constitute the object of this study. The thesis has been conducted from a constructivist perspective, rendering the emphasis on the social and cognitive force of metaphor and narrative. It focuses on three unsuccessful acquisitions in Australia by New Zealand firms, namely The Warehouse, Telecom and Air New Zealand. In total 236 news articles located in both New Zealand and Australian print media have been utilized. Further to the introduction of each tragic narrative, content analysis is employed as the major tool of metaphor analysis. Categorization has been done for each individual case and the findings across the three cases have also been analyzed. Based on the analysis of the three acquisitions, there are ten main interrelated categories of metaphor. These include: war/violence, biology, sport/game, pathology, love affair, fairy tale, mobility/navigation, farming/manufacturing, theatre and natural sciences. These metaphors jointly form the three tragic tales in a way that allows for progressive and/or regressive development of the media narratives. Among these metaphors, war/violence and biology metaphors are the most common and salient ones. Together, these instigate the discussion of the role of Social Darwinism and evolutionary struggle in shaping media representations. In addition, another common theme, nationalism, is demonstrated by the way both countries' media reported the news of the acquisitions 'tragedy'. This thesis' contribution to the literature and everyday management mainly lies in the insights into metaphor's important role in media representation of acquisitions, and the role of media in creating a certain version of 'reality' to the public through the use of metaphor. In closing, the thesis attempts to instigate further interest in the role of language in organizational representations.