The volatile environment is nothing new, but in the
last two years, when the world had to cope with a pandemic, it was the agile
companies that were able to survive or even
make a profit. More than ever, the business is done through projects and
the practices used make the difference between being fast and agile or being a
follower. The present work analyzes the presence of
agile practices in the context of the merger and acquisition of a European and
a Chinese company in Europe. For the assessment of the volatility of companies’
environment before and after the merger, the agility assessment framework by Z.
Zhang and H. Sharifi will be used. Through the questionnaire filled in by top
and middle management as well as operational level employees, it will be evident
what level of agility the companies needed before and after the merger to
prosper. One level lower, the agility level inside departments will be reviewed
with interviews, where the presence of agile practices in projects run before,
during and after the merger, using the Agile Adoption Framework - SIDKY Agile
Management Index & a 5 Stage implementation process, will be assessed. The
research aims to evaluate the gap between the current and the needed level of
agility at the country level, as well as the evolution of agile practice in
projects during the process of the two companies coming together. In the end,
providing the answer to what is the highest possible level of agility the
merged company can achieve.
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