Project, program and portfolio management as modes of organizing: Theorising at the intersection between mergers and acquisitions and project studies

Abstract

<p>Although the management of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and of projects are connected in practice, they remain disjoined in academia. In this paper, we conceptually bridge the literature on projects and M&As to discuss the transitory nature of organisations by mobilising the concepts of project, programme, and portfolio as alternative modes of organising M&As. As a project, the managerial effort in M&A focuses on <em>completion</em> on time and budget. As a programme, M&As are managed as complex processes of <em>convergence</em> between organisations. As a portfolio, M&A management is part of the ongoing integration efforts within organisations that have grown via M&As. Our contribution to project studies is to position projects, programmes, and portfolios as modes of organising, hence, not as phenomena but as managerial <em>choices</em> used to shape strategic change initiatives, such as M&As. We conclude with implications beyond project studies, thereby drafting a project-based theory of the firm.<br></p>