Abstract
Background: The topic of firm growth has been garnering considerable attention in recent times, with the emphasis on organic growth and growth by acquisition. To the extent of my knowledge, many of those scholars have previously tried to study the CEO-board dynamics surrounding the new firm. Nevertheless, research on this topic is disintegrated and requires more focusing on the positive relationship dynamics between the board and the CEO during the making of strategic decisions like firm growth. This study focuses on the relationship dynamics between the CEO and the board and various reasons for the acquisition. Objective: This study aims to investigate growth by acquisition and the relationship dynamics between the board and the CEO during the making of strategic decisions like firm growth. The resource dependence framework has been used to examine the relationship dynamics between the Board and the CEO. Methods: This study employs multiple case analyses that make use of semi-structured interviews. An exploratory approach is followed with Eisenhardt’s framework of building theory from case studies regarded as most useful for this study. Results: The results from this study shows that the Board-CEO relationship dynamics can take many forms during the making of strategic decisions like firm growth. However, it all comes down to a constructive relationship between the Board and the CEO to drive the growth of a firm in the right direction. As part of answering the research question, major motivators for inorganic growth i.e. acquisition growth of different firms were also identified. The major reasons identified are to grow into new markets, killer acquisition, to get hold of complementary resources, and to remove excess capacity from the industry.