Interactions between institutional logics and cultural dynamics in the public–private integration process
| Date | 01 March 2022 |
| Author | Olivier Meier,Anne-Sophie Thelisson |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020852319891232 |
| Published date | 01 March 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Interactions between
institutional logics and
cultural dynamics in
the public–private
integration process
Anne-Sophie Thelisson
ESDES - Catholic University of Lyon, France
Olivier Meier
LIPHA - University of Paris Est, France
Abstract
This article underlines the specificities of public–private mergers by presenting the
interactions between the institutional logics at stake and the cultural dynamics during
the integration process of a public–private merger. The article presents a longitudinal
case study of a public–private merger of two listed French companies over two years.
Our study completes and enriches Schultz’s model by showing its dynamic nature and
highlighting the crucial role of the state as a trigger for the interactions between insti-
tutional logics and cultural dynamics.
Points for practitioners
By highlighting the interactions between cultural dynamics and institutional logics, we
trace how cultural dynamics influence the decision-making process and how institu-
tional logics influence integration by becoming dominant. We demonstrate how the
state influences the interactions between these forces during the integration process.
Keywords
institutional change, integration process, longitudinal case study, public–private merger
Corresponding author:
Anne-Sophie Thelisson, ESDES Business School, Catholic University of Lyon, 10 place des archives, 69002
Lyon, France.
Email: asthelisson@ucly.fr
International Review of Administrative
Sciences
!The Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/0020852319891232
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2022, Vol. 88(1) 189–204
Introduction
The concept of institutional logic was introduced by Friedland and Alford (1991:
248) to explain how actors are shaped and constrained by a central logic, defined
as ‘a set of material practices and symbolic constructions’, even though
several logics can coexist (Thornton and Ocasio, 1999). Therefore, institutional
theory sees the choices and behaviours of individual actors as being defined and
constrained by different logics that make up their institutional context (Grosvold
et al., 2016).
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are characterized by several logics (Greve
and Zhang, 2017) as each organization and its stakeholders have been shaped by
distinct histories, legitimacy, authority and values (Choi et al., 2011). In addition,
M&As between public and private companies may bring to the fore the different
features (Schaeffer and Loveridge, 2002) of their respective organizational environ-
ments, constraints and incentives (Perry and Rainey, 1988). Benn and Gaus (1983)
identified dimensions of cultural dynamics (CDs) according to the private or public
nature of the organizations (Saz-Carranza and Longo, 2012). These characteristics
give rise to central CDs specific to the nature of the organizations (Saz-Carranza
and Longo, 2012). However, few studies have paid attention to the differences
between institutional logics (ILs) and CDs within inter-organizational strategies.
The differences between the concepts of organizational culture, and therefore their
associated logics, and ILs are blurred. Moreover, few studies have analysed how
these specific dynamics influence the public–private integration process. According
to Caprar and Neville (2012: 236), the concepts of institutions and culture are
‘uncomfortably similar’. In this article, we seek to analyse the interplay between
CDs and ILs within a public–private integration process. Our study aims at
answering the following question: how did the interactions between CDs and
ILs influence the public–private integration process?
We present a longitudinal case study of a merger conducted in real time over
two years. Our analysis comprised different stages using the Nvivo software coding
process. These steps allowed us to present the interactions between the ILs at stake
and the CDs during the integration process. Then, we empirically analyse the
interdependencies of CDs and ILs according to the model proposed by Schultz
(2012). The author models the relationships between the CDs and ILs in order to
bring out the power relations between these forces.
Our results can be divided into two points: (1) ILs foreshadow the terms of
power between organizations, which may be affected by cultural elements at a
given time when CDs are very strongly expressed during post-merger integration;
and (2) CDs can promote the convergence of practices and behaviours at the
organizational level, but at the institutional level, the new company is faced with
influences that bring out the specificities of public–private mergers, regardless of
the decisions taken. Indeed, ILs are part of the regulation of power relations,
whereas CDs are part of a model of development and confrontation. Therefore,
our case underlines the specificities of public–private mergers at organizational and
190 International Review of Administrative Sciences 88(1)
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