Shun Yiu

Contact Information

Claudine Gartenberg and Shun Yiu (2023), Acquisitions and Corporate Purpose, Strategy Science, in press. Abstract
Purpose is undergoing a resurgence of interest across research and practice. Yet, we know little about how it relates to strategy and specifically, how strategic actions reinforce or undermine purpose in organizations. This study explores this question in the context of acquisitions. We examine 831 transactions using data from approximately 1.7 million employees to construct our measure of purpose. We find that, on average, employees’ sense of purpose drops after acquisitions. This drop is particularly pronounced among firms that undertake unique acquisitions: those involving unusual industry combinations. This relationship suggests a possible tension between strategic and motivational consequences of boundary changes. Firms may benefit strategically from these changes, particularly those that enable expansion into unique areas. These same actions, however, may also erode the purpose of the organization, with consequences for downstream performance.

MGMT1010 - Intro To Management
We all spend much of our lives in organizations. Most of us are born in organizations, educated in organizations, and work in organizations. Organizations emerge because individuals can't (or don't want to) accomplish their goals alone. Management is the art and science of helping individuals achieve their goals together. Managers in an organization determine where their organization is going and how it gets there. More formally, managers formulate strategies and implement those strategies. This course provides a framework for understanding the opportunities and challenges involved in formulating and implementing strategies by taking a "system" view of organizations,which means that we examine multiple aspects of how managers address their environments, strategy, structure, culture, tasks, people, and outputs, and how managerial decisions made in these various domains interrelate. The course will help you to understand and analyze how managers can formulate and implement strategies effectively. It will be particularly valuable if you are interested in management consulting, investment analysis, or entrepreneurship - but it will help you to better understand and be a more effective contributor to any organizations you join, whether they are large, established firms or startups. This course must be taken for a grade.

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Knowledge @ Wharton - 2024/04/17