Partnering versus Mergers & Acquisitions

'How should finns decide between Partnering and M&A?' In today's globalizing economy company processes look more and more like Lego bricks in a world where company borders, national borders, and industry borders are losing their mean­ ing. Value chains are de constructed and re-assembled, processes are outsourced across the globe, and companies are bought and sold, split and merged at a seemingly ever increasing rate. New organizational relationships emerge and companies are increasingly forced to search for their success outside their existing boundaries. Partnering as well as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are the typical means to accomplish this. Although every merger, acqui­ sition or partnership is presented to the press and the shareholders with a clear rationale, the logic is not always easy to follow. How do finns decide between Partnering and M&A? And how should finns make this deci­ sion? These two questions are central to this thesis, and although much has been written about both Partnering and M&A, little is written about the choice between these two options for external growth. In this thesis, Hannes Saubert addresses this topic in a very clear and convincing way, build­ ing on an extensive and integrative literature review and an in-depth case study in the tourism industry where he enjoyed excellent access to all the different actors involved in these deci­ sions.