Mergers, acquisitions and alliances in the cruise tourism industry

The present paper addresses the antecedents of cruise companies' strategy implementation, focusing on mergers, acquisitions and alliances as potential alternative choices for managers. Specifically, a model for interpreting the drivers of such decisions is proposed, based on two dimensions: (1) the level of riskiness and complexity of the industry and (2) the importance of the acquired resources and capabilities for the competitive advantage of the acquiring firm. The theoretical model is then applied to the cruise industry, through a qualitative analysis on three case studies based on the major companies: Carnival, RCCL, and Star Cruise-Norwegian Cruise Line (Genting Group). Such industry represents an ideal set for studying the issues, as, in the last few years, the growing turbulent environment has increased the number of mergers and acquisitions and strategic alliances with other partners belonging to the same supply chain. The results show that in the cruise tourism industry, the two aforementioned dimensions seem to matter in firms' choice between the different external growth strategies, highlighting the presence of homogeneous behavioral models among the cruise companies. This contribution presents some valuable research implications, useful for researchers and academics, but also professionals and policy makers may benefit from this knowledge.