Decision Spaces, Emergence and Navigational Practices. Supporting a post-merger organization through the practice of research

Abstract

The following paper presents the ways in which a group of managers from a post-merger organization managed a decision space. The decision space emerged as the result of a poorly integrated (from the social and cultural perspective) merger and acquisition (M&A). The case study involved the group of managers engaging in a collaborative action research project with an academic partner. The research practice provided the opportunity for managers to talk about and explore their thoughts and actions around the merger. The case study was analysed through the lens of a journeying metaphor as a way of accessing the processual and emergent nature of change. Following Humpheys and Brezillon (2002) and Deleuze and Guattari (1987) the analysis presented attempts to chart the decision space triggered by the merger and to understand managers' sense-making about this space without reducing the complexity of their experiences and thinking.