Managing Both Assets and Change: An Examination Of Organizational Development In Private Equity Owned Portfolio Companies

Abstract: Deep studies of Organizational Development in Private Equity are very rare. But Private Equity firms can be regarded as experts in Organizational Change, by continuously transforming different portfolio companies over the course of ownership. By analysing how an amalgam of theories, centred on Lewin's idea of Planned Change, are evident in an empirical study of Private Equity firms' change processes of portfolio companies, this thesis contributes to interpreting Lewin's theories, as well as offering insights for applications in Private Equity and other businesses. Taking a constructionist position and using interpretative analysis in an abductive approach, a collection of interviews is analysed to showcase how Private Equity ownership manifests the Three Step model of Planned Change. It is concluded that the theoretical framework is clearly visible in Private Equity firms' change efforts, and that these efforts reinforce one another in a virtuous cycle, making holistic coordination of the efforts important.