A link between post-acquisition acculturation and project management maturity

Author(s):  
Bruno de Oliveira Carvalho ◽  
Mario Henrique Ogasavara

Purpose Numerous firms in the automotive industry, to improve their competitiveness, have recently adopted mergers and acquisitions (M&As) strategies, particularly those in which a multinational enterprise from a developed country (DMNE) or a multinational enterprise from an emerging market (EMNE) acquires a DMNE. However, DMNEs in the industry typically do not acquire emerging market firms. In response, this paper aims to analyze that uncommon M&As process by focusing on the relationship between modes of post-acquisition acculturation and project management (PM) maturity. Because the literature addressing M&As does not correlate the acculturation process with project team maturity, this study seeks to partly fill that gap by proposing a framework for the relationship that draws upon Nahavandi and Malekzadeh’s (1988) research and Holmes and Walsh’s (2005) model. Design/methodology/approach This paper present qualitative research based on a case study in the automotive industry of a DMNE’s acquisition of a Brazilian firm. For data collection, this research conducted 14 in-depth interviews with managers, the transcripts of which were analyzed using content analysis. Findings Content analysis revealed differences between modes of acculturation perceived by the acquired and acquirer firms, as well as a gap between PM teams from both types of firm. A direct relationship emerged between the mode of acculturation and PM team, which constituted a factor driving the evolution of PM practices within the company. In recognizing that relationship, this research proposes and elucidates a framework that relates the mode of acculturation following the M&A process to PM maturity. Originality/value No previous research in the literature on M&As has analyzed post-acquisition acculturation and PM maturity in conjunction. For managers in post-acquisition companies, the proposed framework of this study is useful for understanding good management practices and, for project teams, for understanding the acculturation process.

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Mullaly

Purpose – Maturity models have been widely adopted as a popular framework for improvement project management practices. Despite their prevalence, there is still minimal evidence that improvements in maturity correspond to improvements in performance or value. This paper aims to explore the challenges faced in applying project management maturity models and offers suggestions for their revision. Design/methodology/approach – The paper highlights the presumptions in their development and use that are inhibiting relevance of maturity models. Case studies from a major research project explore the relationship between maturity and value. Insights are generated on how project management maturity models need to change in order to become relevant. Findings – Project management maturity models presume that project management is universal, control oriented and consistent, and that maturity is a linear process. Empirical evidence demonstrates that the practice of project management varies, that different practices result in different value. The paper suggests that a contingent and contextual approach to assessment is required, which maturity models as currently defined may not be able to support. Research limitations/implications – This is a largely conceptual paper and draws on a limited number of case studies that derived maturity from a comprehensive understanding of project management practices. It is not tied to one specific model, and a model that would address the criticisms discussed here has not been conceived or developed. Practical implications – This paper will have particular relevance for organizations, who may place excess faith in the rhetoric surrounding maturity models without questioning their underlying relevance or value. It is also of importance to those who develop maturity models and suggests strategies for their significant revision. Originality/value – This paper takes an important look at whether maturity models actually deliver on their promise and argues that by both design and structure, they are unlikely to do so in their current form.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1223-1236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Rienda ◽  
Enrique Claver-Cortes ◽  
Diego Quer ◽  
Rosario Andreu

Purpose In recent years, emerging-market multinationals (EMMs) are receiving significant attention in the international business literature. They represent a challenge for the conventional wisdom, mainly derived from the behavior of developed-country multinationals (MNEs). The purpose of this paper is to analyze how different cross-national distances, namely cultural, administrative, geographic and economic, may affect establishment mode choice by Indian MNEs. Design/methodology/approach Data are collected from 328 outward foreign direct investments carried out by Indian MNEs in 73 countries from 1991 to 2014. A binomial logistic regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses. Findings The results show that cultural and administrative distances negatively affect the choice of an acquisition. Moreover, firm size, acquisition experience, host country experience, industry, belonging to the G20 alliance and being a state-owned enterprise also influence establishment mode choice. Originality/value This is one of the first studies that investigate the relationship between distances and establishment mode choice by Indian MNEs. The findings suggest that they follow a different behavioral pattern among EMMs, since their internationalization decisions are closer to those of developed-country MNEs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Miller

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer and explore innovative strategies for building and sustaining digital initiatives at information organizations. Although the examples provided are based on case studies at an academic library, the practices are rooted in project management principles and therefore applicable to all library types, museums, archives and other information organizations. The innovative strategies on staffing and funding will be particularly useful to organizations faced with monetary and staffing shortages and highlights collaborative management practices. Design/methodology/approach Concept of strategic and collaborative management practices led by an experienced project manager cross-trained in management, technical and soft skills enables the successful development and sustainability of digital initiatives. A cross-trained librarian’s management practices of leading the Digital Scholarship Initiatives at a particular university will be examined as a case study and aided with literature supporting the need for digital initiatives leaders to have training beyond the credentials of librarian, curator, archivist or historian in the technologically savvy twenty-first century ecology of information centers. Findings The innovative strategies implemented in the case study yielded increases in the number of hours of digital lab usage, digital projects developed, seminars or workshops presented, attendance of library hosted events, number of programs implemented and awareness on campus, all with limited staff and funding. The variety and level of production and marketing is instrumental to the growth and sustainability of digital initiatives. Practical implications The innovative strategies emphasized in this paper use the concept of borrowed or shared time to start staffing needs and is particularly helpful to organizations that do not have a strong line of dedicated staffing or funding to begin building digital initiatives. Offers small ways to start immediately while setting the stage to plan for big ideas for the future. Originality/value This paper suggests a credentialed information expert, such as a librarian, archivist or curator, that is, also cross-trained in project management and technology is the key to not only successfully leading digital initiatives but is instrumental for its sustainability and the marketing, growth and future of digital initiatives.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Shea ◽  
Syed Aktharsha Usman ◽  
Sengottuvel Arivalagan ◽  
Satyanarayana Parayitam

Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically examine knowledge management (KM) practices as a moderator in the relationship between organizational culture and performance. The effect of four types of organizational culture on organizational performance was studied. In addition to direct effects, most importantly, KM practices as a moderator in strengthening the culture-performance relationship were empirically examined. Design/methodology/approach A carefully crafted survey instrument was distributed and data was collected from 1,255 respondents from 10 information technology companies in India. After checking the psychometric properties of the instrument, this paper performs hierarchical regression to test hypotheses. Findings The results reveal that: cooperative culture, innovative culture, consistent culture and effectiveness culture were all positively and significantly related to organizational performance; KM practices were positively and significantly related to organizational performance, KM practices moderate the relationship between various dimensions of organizational culture and organizational performance. Research limitations/implications As with any survey-based research, the present study suffers from the problems associated with self-report measures. These are common method bias and social desirability bias. However, this study attempts to minimize these limitations by following appropriate statistical techniques. Practical implications This study contributes to both practicing managers and the literature on KM and organizational culture. The study suggests that managers use KM practices, which are all-pervasive and very important for improving organizational performance. The results highlight the importance of implementing KM practices in organizations. Originality/value This study provides new insights into the importance of KM practices in achieving sustained competitive advantage by achieving organizational effectiveness. To the knowledge, the importance of KM practices is underemphasized in organizational culture research.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti Haverila ◽  
Jenny Carita Twyford

PurposeDrawing upon the relational exchange theory, the longitudinal relationship between various stages of project management customer satisfaction, value for money and repurchase intent are examined.Design/methodology/approachUsing a survey questionnaire, data were gathered over four consecutive quarters (N = 2,537). The statistical methods included exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory composite analysis (CCA) and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsProject management was perceived as a three-dimensional construct (proposal, installation, commissioning/start-up). There was a significant longitudinal relationship between project stages and satisfaction in the complete data set. The results varied on the quarterly basis. The relationship customer satisfaction/repurchase intent was significant in the whole data set and during all quarters. This was the case for the relationships between value for money and customer satisfaction and between value for money and repurchase intent. The effect sizes were small between project management stages and customer satisfaction, small to medium for the value for money construct and large for the customer satisfaction construct.Originality/valueAn important implication is the significant relationship between the stages of project management and satisfaction. However, the effect sizes were small, however. The importance of the effect size in comparison to the significance of the relationships is highlighted especially when the sample size is large. The paper also confirms the linear relationship between satisfaction and repurchase intent. The nature of the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty is based on a moderate exchange relationship in the relational exchange continuum. The study contributes to the relational exchange theory in the context of project management.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aqsa Ameer ◽  
Farah Naz ◽  
Bushra Gul Taj ◽  
Iqra Ameer

Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of conscientiousness and extraversion personality traits on project success. The relationship is mediated by affective professional commitment, whilst the relationship between personality traits and project success is moderated by organizational project management maturity. Design/methodology/approach The deductive approach is used to achieve the objectives of this study. Data were collected through a purposive sampling technique from 250 respondents with the help of questionnaires from information technology sectors. The structural equation modelling (SEM) in partial least squares-SEM and SPSS is used to analyse the data and to examine the hypothesis. Findings The outcomes demonstrate the partial mediating impact of affective professional commitment between the relationship of conscientiousness and extraversion personalities with project success. Additionally, it proves the moderating effects of project management maturity between the relationship of conscientiousness and extraversion personalities with project success. Practical implications This study reflects that employee personality appears to be a reliable indicator of how an employee is faithful to his profession. This faithfulness or duty decides the employee’s execution in terms of offering a successful project. Thus, achieving employee commitment needs to be done by completing the project successfully by the organizations in the presence of project management maturity systems. Originality/value It is the first study of its kind to provide experimental proof of the impact of a manager’s personality traits on project success in the presence of affective professional commitment (mediator) and organizational project management maturity (moderator).


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-248
Author(s):  
Manogna R.L. ◽  
Aswini Kumar Mishra

Purpose The study aims to analyze the impact of Research & Development (R&D) intensity on the firm’s performance, measured by growth of sales in the emerging market like India. Innovation strategy and its outcomes for firms may be different in developing countries as compared to developed countries. Thus, a study that focuses on the emerging economy like India, with a majority of the population dependent on agriculture, is of prime importance to the firm performance in the food and agricultural manufacturing industry. For this study, the broader focus will be on one widely recognised factor which may influence the growth rate of firms, i.e. investment in innovations which is in terms of R&D expenditure. Design/methodology/approach The paper investigates the relationship between the R&D efforts and growth of firms in the Indian food and agricultural manufacturing industry during 2001–2019. To empirically test the relationship between firm’s growth (FG) and R&D investments, system generalised method of moments technique has been used, hence enabling to avoid problems related to endogeneity and simultaneity. Findings The findings reveal that investments in innovations have a positive effect on the growth of firms in the Indian food and agricultural manufacturing industry. Investment in R&D also enables the firms to reap benefits from externalities present in the industry. Further analysis reveals that younger firms grow faster when they invest in R&D. More specifically, this paper finds evidence in the case of the food and agricultural industry that import of raw materials negatively affects the FG and export intensity positively affects the growth in the case of R&D firms. Research limitations/implications This study suggests that the government should encourage the industries to invest optimally in R&D projects by providing favourable fiscal treatments and R&D subsidies which are observed to have positive effects in various developed countries. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, the current paper is the first to analyse the impact of innovation in food and agricultural industry on firm’s performance in an emerging economy context with the latest data. This paper agrees that a government initiative to increase private R&D expenditure would have favourable effects on FG as growing investments in R&D lead to further growth of the firms.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance Elizabeth Kampf ◽  
Charlotte J. Brandt ◽  
Christopher G. Kampf

PurposeThe purpose is to explore how the process of action research (AR) can support building legitimacy and organizational learning in innovation project management and portfolio practices in merger contexts.Design/methodology/approachMeta-reflection on method issues in Action Research through an action research case study with an innovation group during an organizational change process. This case demonstrates an example of an action research cycle focused on building practitioner legitimacy rather than problem-solving.FindingsKey findings include (1) demonstrating how AR can be used for building legitimacy through visualizing the innovation process, and embedding those visuals in top management practices of the organization; and (2) demonstrating how AR can work as an organizational learning tool in merger contexts.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on an action research cooperation during a two-and-a-half-year period. Thus, findings offer the depth of a medium term case study. The processes of building legitimacy represent this particular case, and can be investigated in other organizational contexts to see the extent to which these issues can be generalized.Practical implicationsFor researchers, this paper offers an additional type of AR cycle to consider in their research design which can be seen as demonstrating a form of interplay between practitioner action and organizational level legitimacy. For practitioners, this paper demonstrates a connection between legitimacy and organizational learning in innovation contexts. The discussion of how visuals were co-created and used for building legitimacy for an innovation process that differs from the standard stage gate model demonstrates how engaging in AR research can contribute to developing visuals as resources for building legitimacy and organizational learning based on connections between theory and practice.Originality/valueThis case rethinks AR practice for innovation project management contexts to include legitimacy and organizational learning. This focus on legitimacy building from organizational learning and knowledge conversion contributes to our understanding of the soft side of innovation project management. Legitimacy is demonstrated to be a key concern for innovation project management practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thammanoon Charmjuree ◽  
Yuosre F. Badir ◽  
Umar Safdar

PurposeThis study is among the very few to examine the firm's simultaneous use of both dimensions of open innovation and its influences on the firm's process innovation performance (PIP). Specifically, the authors consider the relationship between firm's external technology acquisition (ETA) and external technology exploitation (ETE) and examine their direct, indirect and mediating effect on the firm's PIP. The authors also examine the moderating effect of the organizations' unabsorbed slack (UASL) on the relationship between ETA and ETE.Design/methodology/approachAnalyzing data collected from 311 small- and medium-sized software development firms in emerging market; Thailand, we show that both ETA and ETE have a positive effect on PIP and that ETE fully mediates the relationship between ETA and PIP.FindingsThe authors show that both ETA and ETE have a positive effect on PIP and that ETE fully mediates the relationship between ETA and PIP. Moreover, the relationship between ETA and ETE is positively moderated by the firms' unabsorbed slack (UASL) and that the influence of ETA on PIP through ETE is stronger under higher unabsorbed slack.Originality/valueThe authors extend the “traditional” performance outcome of outbound dimension of open innovation concept, which focuses exclusively on commercialization and market (Chesbrough, 2003b), by showing that ETE positively influences the firm's PIP. Moreover, the study explains the mechanism through which ETA influence the firm's PIP by proposing that ETE fully mediates the relationship between ETA and PIP.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zukaa Mardnly ◽  
Zinab Badran ◽  
Sulaiman Mouselli

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the individual and combined effect of managerial ownership and external audit quality, as two control mechanisms, on earnings management. Design/methodology/approach This study applies ordinary least squares estimates on fixed-time effects panel regression model to test the impact of the investigated variables on earnings management for the whole population of banks and insurance companies listed at Damascus Securities Exchange (DSE) during the period from 2011 to 2018. Findings The empirical evidence suggests a negative non-linear relationship between managerial ownership (as proxied by board of directors’ ownership) on earnings management. However, neither audit quality nor the simultaneous effect of the managerial ownership and audit quality (Big 4) affects earnings management. Research limitations/implications DSE is dominated by the financial sector and the number of observations is constrained by the recent establishment of DSE and the small number of firms listed at DSE. In addition, the non-availability of data on executive directors’ and foreign ownerships restrict our ability to uncover the impact of different dimensions of ownership structure on earnings management. Practical implications First, it stimulates investors to purchase stocks in financial firms that enjoy both high managerial ownership, as they seem enjoying higher earnings quality. Second, the findings encourage external auditors to consider the ownership structure when choosing their clients as the financial statements’ quality is affected by this structure. Third, researchers may need to consider the role of managerial ownership when analyzing the determinants of earnings management. Originality/value It fills the gap in the literature, as it investigates the impact of both managerial ownership and audit quality on earnings management in a special conflict context and in an unexplored emerging market of DSE. It suggests that managerial ownership exerts a significant role in controlling earnings management practices when loose regulatory environment combines conflict conditions. However, external audit quality fails to counter earnings management practices when conditions are fierce.


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