This report provides a narrative, empirical research investigating the post-merger implementation (PMI) process in the Live Event industry with an entrepreneurial perspective.
The report was written as a client-based dissertation for a target firm in Norway. The research aims to cover a gap in M&A literature considering recent incidents in the Live Event industry caused by entrepreneurial management in growth-oriented firms. This report conducts qualitative research in a Norwegian Live Event organization with an aggressive growth-strategy of two mergers and one acquisition over a period of five years. The reported PMI repercussions were primary incentives to address the research topic. Research methods include in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted on the managerial level of the organisation, analysed with an inductive approach and coded using Nvivo 12. The homogenous sampling procedure and its limitations allows for no generalisation of the results; however, the outcome is presented as a framework in the last part of the paper. All transcripts can be provided upon request. There were radical and surprising findings in the study. Analysis of the data uncovered lack of strategic pre-merger planning affecting the two most crucial departments in the organisation. It was unclear as to what extent the issues influenced the financial performance, however indication of underperformance on the operational level occurred within the sample. The literature review of the live event industry in whole revealed unsustainable conditions for profitable operation in terms of market saturation in addition to significant lack of empirical research on managerial processes. In light of these findings, the researcher proposes modifications of the existing PMI framework that suggests a utilisation of the creative industry’s strengths to succeed with major change processes without compromising the flexibility of the entrepreneurial management. There are limitations related to time-constraints, sampling procedure and possible bias in findings, hence recommendations serve only as guidelines for future research.
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