Strategic and Organisational fit in Corporate News Markets
A Principal-agent Approach to Studying Newspaper Mergers
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12909335 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Helle Sjøvaag (0000-0001-6737-8129, University of Stavanger, corresponding author), Thomas Owren (University of Stavanger), Turid Borgen (University of Stavanger) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 1181-1198 |
| Publication date | 2020-05-29 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journalism Practice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17512786.2020.1772097 |
| OpenAlex | W3032183879 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 43 |
This article analyses strategic and organisational fit in corporate newspaper mergers in the context of the digitalisation of local newspaper markets. Using the 2019 acquisition of Nordsjø Media by Amedia in Norway as case, we analyse how eight editors-in-chief perceive the process of incorporating small, low-frequency, print-oriented monopolistic newspapers into one of Scandinavia’s largest newspaper chains. The semi-structured interviews were analysed in light of perceived strategic and organisational fit in a principal-agent theoretical framework, the aim of which is to shed light on corporate ownership effects in consolidated newspaper markets. The analysis reveals the precarity of independent ownership in digitising news markets, to which corporatisation emerges as a necessary and welcomed solution. We find the strategic fit as perceived by editors to be tied to technological resources and scale economics, while organisational fit is hampered by the speed and pressure of corporatisation processes. While these results largely support findings from previous acquisition studies in the news industries, the contribution of this analysis lies primarily with the necessity of scale required by the technological transformation that forces independent newspapers to submit to larger chain operations and how it influences considerations of fit in disruptive digital news markets
Advertising · Business · Mergers and acquisitions · Newspaper · Political science · Principal (computer security · Public relations · Computer Science · Corporate Finance and Governance · Marketing
Agency Theory
Theory of the firm
Competitive Strategy for Media Firms
Market Competition, Station Ownership, and Local Public Affairs Programming on Broadcast Television
Local journalism seen through the numbers
Journalism Between the State and the Market
Journalism Meets Management
What About the Hyperlocals
Determinants of Journalists' Professional Autonomy
Diversity in Online News
The Problem of Journalism
News reporting and professionalism
The Structure of Corporate Ownership
Markets, Ownership, and the Quality of Campaign News Coverage
Media Ownership and News Coverage of International Conflict
What Shapes the News around the World? How Journalists in Eighteen Countries Perceive Influences on Their Work
Changes in U.S. Journalism
Funding Journalism in the Digital Age
A Clash of Media Systems
The Business of Media
Female Voices in the News
Journalism and political affiliation of the media
Can foundations solve the journalism crisis
A Principal-Agent Approach to the Study of Media Organizations
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,8 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |