Acqusition as growth strategy : An empircal case study of SYSteam AB and Sigma AB

Sammanfattning: Acquisitions are considered to be the ultimate form of corporate growth in today’s increasingly complex and global business economy. There is a significant lack of research done in understanding the growth of I.T. SMEs by means of acquisitions. All previous research concerning acquisitions has focused mostly on large sized organizations, involved in cross national operations. SMEs do not compete in an international arena like multinational corporations, who have already inherited a culture of accommodating acquired firms and achieving synergy. Therefore the question here arises as to how SMEs pursue growth via acquisitions despite having limited resources and capabilities.   Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to study acquisition growth strategy of two I.T. firms (SYSteam AB and Sigma AB) which have grown from SMEs to large firms by means of acquisitions.   Method: In order to fulfill the purpose of this study the authors conducted a qualitative case study of two I.T. firms. The authors used interview as the data collection method.   Results/conclusions: There are many different factors which lead a firm to pursue acquisitions. Increased market share, proximity to key customers and entrepreneurial nature of the founders were the main ones. Acquisition brings about numerous synergies and integration is a key to capitalizing upon these synergies. Acquisition induces entrepreneurial orientation and facilitates the emergence of acquisition capabilities within the acquiring firm.