Antenarratives as interface in the process of M&A becoming

An interface can be described as a common boundary or interconnection between systems, concepts or human beings (Random House Dictionary, 2016). Developing on this insight, ante-narratives can be said to function as an interface (interconnection) between grander narratives of how an acquisition strategy was performed and the theoretical ideas that lay in-between in the process of acquisition becoming. Ante narratives are fragmented, non-linear stories which have not yet been petrified into narratives, but rather pieces of organizational discourse which can help to confirm a line of reasoning. By drawing on theories from Boje, Bakhtin and Heidegger; this paper will contribute by giving insights into how individualistic fragmented stories of the pre and post-acquisition processes can jointly define an organizations grand narrative of how an acquisition was performed.