1

Business Management HL Internal Assessment

To what extent has acquisition of X (formerly Twitter) by Elon Musk effected Twitters stakeholders:

employees and consumers?

Key Concept: Change

Candidate personal code – lbg028

Session – May 2024

Words: 1781

Declaration of Authenticity: I confirm that this work is my own work and is the final version. I have

acknowledged each use of the words or ideas of another person, whether written or oral.

Date: 17/3/2024 Signed: Yes

 2

Contents

I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

II. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................................ 4

III. X’S REVENUE AND USAGE ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... 5

IV. EMPLOYEE TURNOVER AND CASH FLOW........................................................................................ 8

V. HOFSTEDE CULTURAL DIMENSIONS ................................................................................................ 11

V. I Uncertainty Avoidance: ........................................................................................................................ 11

V. 2 Indulgence Versus Self-restraint: ......................................................................................................... 12

VI. CHANGE IN CORPORATE CULTURE ................................................................................................. 13

VII. STAKEHOLDER MAPPING .................................................................................................................. 14

VIII. THE FUTURE OF TWITTER: CONCLUSION .................................................................................... 15

IX. Appendix.................................................................................................................................................... 16

Appendix A. ................................................................................................................................................. 16

Appendix B. ................................................................................................................................................. 16

Appendix C. ................................................................................................................................................. 16

Appendix D. ................................................................................................................................................. 16

X. Citations ...................................................................................................................................................... 17
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I. INTRODUCTION

X Corp., formerly Twitter, is a popular social media and technology company established by Elon Musk in

2023. “In October 2022, Elon Musk, the founder, and chief executive officer (CEO) of giant multinational

companies Tesla Inc. (Tesla) and The Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX), completed the

acquisition of Twitter Inc.” [5]

. To reduce expenditures Musk made major changes such as privatization,

logo, and employee layoffs [2]. Subsequently, Musk decided to disregard the companies own stakeholders [1],

like the interests of employees who had worked years to build the corporate culture for 'Twitter' [2]. My study

will highlight how X, following the acquisition, has affected employees and consumers due to Musk's

operational change decisions to increase profitability [6] . Therefore, this analysis explores the impact of the

transformation on an important stakeholder: “To what extent has acquisition of X (formerly Twitter) by

Elon Musk effected Twitters stakeholders: employees and consumers?” 1

5.“A Timeline of Elon Musk’s Takeover of Twitter.” NBC News, 17 Nov. 2022, www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/Twitter-elon-musk-timeline-what-
happened-so-far-rcna57532. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

2. Supporting document 2: Agnihotri , Arpita, and Saurabh Bhattacharya. “Elon Musk: In Need of Responsible Human Resource Management Practices at
Twitter.” Harvard Business Review, 5 July 2023, www.store.hbr.org/product/elon-musk-in-need-of-responsible-human-resource-management-practices-at-
Twitter/w32382?sku=W32382-PDF-ENG. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

1. Supporting document 1: Bebchuk, Lucian, et al. “How Twitter Pushed Stakeholders Under the Bus.” Apr. 2023,
www.papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4330393. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

6. Vanamali, Krishna Veera. “Is Elon Musk Rewriting the HR Rulebook at Twitter?” www.business-standard.com, 7 Nov. 2022, www.business-
standard.com/podcast/companies/is-elon-musk-rewriting-the-hr-rulebook-at-Twitter-122110500194_1.html. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.
 4

II. METHODOLOGY

This commentary will evaluate the effect of the acquisition on the existing workforce and how X is violating

Twitters established consumers. It’s based on: A Harvard business review [2] on Twitters human resource

practices, ECGI Working Paper [1] regarding the acquisitions effect on Twitters stakeholders. Moreover, I’ve

gathered insights on Musk’s corporate culture on a transcribed video from YouTube [14] and finally Twitters

usage statistics and revenue mainly used from Business of apps [3] and Netcials [4].2

TOOL PURPOSE
Labour turnover And Cashflow analysis To elaborate on workforce loss and X’s dept load.
Hofstede’s cultural dimensions To analyse the differences in corporate culture before and
after the acquisition.
Stakeholder Mapping To summarize X’s effect on stakeholders and workforce
loss.
List of Tools

There are a few limitations that I encountered during this study which must be acknowledged. Firstly, the

different perspectives in this study, from Musk and secondary sources may change the reality of the

situation, effecting the accuracy of the analysis. The research findings' overall validity may be influenced by

the biases present in various secondary sources, which may introduce potential mistakes or subjective

opinions. However, the author emphasized the need of evaluating a range of sources and perspectives.

1. Supporting document 1: Bebchuk, Lucian, et al. How Twitter Pushed Stakeholders Under the Bus. Apr. 2023,
www.papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4330393. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

2. Supporting document 2: Agnihotri, Arpita, and Saurabh Bhattacharya. “Elon Musk: In Need of Responsible Human Resource Management Practices at
Twitter.” Harvard Business Review, 5 July 2023, www.store.hbr.org/product/elon-musk-in-need-of-responsible-human-resource-management-practices-at-
Twitter/w32382?sku=W32382-PDF-ENG. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

3. Supporting document 3: “Twitter Revenue and Usage Statistics (2024) - Business of Apps.” Business of Apps, 22 Feb. 2024,
www.businessofapps.com/data/Twitter-
statistics/#:~:text=Twitter%20generated%20%243.4%20billion%20revenue%20in%202023,22%25%20decrease%20on%202022%20figures. Accessed 8 Jan.
2024.

4. Supporting document 4: “List of Financial Reports (Twitter Inc).” Netcials, www.netcials.com/search-results-

financials/?market=NYSE&ticker=TWTR&report=display&fin=yes. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

14. Supporting document 5: The Wall Street Journal. “Working for Elon Musk: Ex-Employees Reveal His Management Strategy | WSJ.” YouTube, 29 Nov. 2022,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEikQP8-es0. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024.
 5

III. X’S REVENUE AND USAGE ANALYSIS

2020 2021 2022 2023

Revenue from 3.2 4.5 4 2.5
Advertising
Revenue from 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.9
Subscription & data
licensing
Total Revenue 3.7 5 4.4 3.5
Table 1: Twitter annual revenue by segment 2021 to 2023 ($bn) rounded to 1 significant figure. Source:
Supporting Document 3

Figure 1: Created
Twitter Revenue By segment through Excel
6
0.5
4 0.4
$Bn

0.9
2 4.5 4
2.5
0
2021 2022 2023

Year
Revenue from Advertising Revenue from Subscription & data licensing
3

Evidently, the revenue from advertising had decreased by 37.5% in 2023. The subscription & data licencing

to advertising revenue ratio in 2023 is 9:25, suggesting that the total revenue decreased by 20.45% in 2023

was to substantial to cover by only subscription & data licencing [3] . Twitter has always heavily relied on

advertising revenue with an average of 84.813% revenues (2021-2023) (appendix A.). The reason many of

the platform's advertisers left when Musk declared his intention to reduce content moderation [2].

3. Supporting document 3: “Twitter Revenue and Usage Statistics (2024) - Business of Apps.” Business of Apps, 22 Feb. 2024,
www.businessofapps.com/data/Twitter-
statistics/#:~:text=Twitter%20generated%20%243.4%20billion%20revenue%20in%202023,22%25%20decrease%20on%202022%20figures. Accessed 8 Jan.
2024.

2. Supporting document 2: Agnihotri, Arpita, and Saurabh Bhattacharya. “Elon Musk: In Need of Responsible Human Resource Management Practices at
Twitter.” Harvard Business Review, 5 July 2023, www.store.hbr.org/product/elon-musk-in-need-of-responsible-human-resource-management-practices-at-
Twitter/w32382?sku=W32382-PDF-ENG. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.
 6

Quarter-year Revenue (Bn$) Quarter-year Revenue (Bn$) Quarter-year Revenue

(Bn$)
Q1-2020 0.8076 Q1-2021 1.036 Q1-2022 1.201
Q2-2020 0.6834 Q2-2021 1.1904 Q2-2022 1.1767
Q3-2020 0.9362 Q3-2021 1.2838
Q4-2020 1.289 Q4-2021 1.5672
Table 2: Twitter quarterly revenue 2020 to 2022 before the acquisition ($bn). Source: Supporting
Document 4

Quarterly revenue before the acquisition per ($Bn) Figure 2: Created

through Excel
1.8 Source: Supporting
1.6 document 4
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Q1- Q2- Q3- Q4- Q1- Q2- Q3- Q4- Q1- Q2-
2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2021 2021 2021 2022 2022

Quarter-year Revenue (Bn$)

Q3-Q4-2020 2.2252
Q3-Q4-2021 2.851
Q3-Q4-2022 2.0223
Table 3: Twitter quarterly revenue 2020 to 2022 ($bn). Source: Supporting Document 3 & 4

Revenue (Bn$) Figure 3: Created through Excel

Calculated by [Q3+Q4] and [Total
3
Revenue – (Q1+Q2)]
2.5 Source: Supporting document 3
and 4
2

1.5

0.5

0
Q3-Q4-2020 Q3-Q4-2021 Q3-Q4-2022
 7

Additionally, Figure 2 and 3 show revenue on the y-axis and quarter-year on the x-axis. Through these

graphs we can understand the revenue growth before and after the acquisition of Elon musk from financial

years 2020 to 2022. The revenue in 2022 quarter 3-4 displays an immediate decline in revenue which is less

than both 2020 and 2021. Similarly, the overall revenue from 2022 decreased by 20.45% in 2023, even

though it was consistently increasing by an average of 15.37% from 2020-2022 (appendix B.). Thus, Musk's

operational decisions have led to consumers such as advertisers to switch to competitors or find new means

of advertising due to the sudden changes in company policies [7]. The revenue and usage analysis proves

Elon Musk change management inefficiency, affecting the consumers of the company. This suggests that

change was not accepted by consumers positively. Now, I would highlight the effect of change on the

Twitter employees. 4

7. Botelho, Bridget. “How Musk’s Twitter Takeover Could Affect Business Accounts.” Customer Experience, 28 Oct. 2022,
www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/news/252526670/How-Musks-Twitter-takeover-could-affect-business-accounts. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.
 8

IV. EMPLOYEE TURNOVER AND CASH FLOW

Musk made Twitter a private limited company, then took out a $13 billion debt finance loan against Twitter

to help fund the platform. $1 billion a year was needed to pay back the “$13 billion debt”, it was 7 times

Twitter's sales revenue 2022 forecast [2]. In 2021, Twitter had a cash flow of only $632 million available to

pay down such debt. Elon Musk claimed that the company's high debt burden and the 37.5% decline in ad

income are the main reasons of its negative cash flow [13]. 5

Figure 4: Employee base in relation to cash flow in US$ Billion [12]

Source: supporting document 4

2. Supporting document 2: Agnihotri , Arpita, and Saurabh Bhattacharya. “Elon Musk: In Need of Responsible Human Resource Management Practices at
Twitter.” Harvard Business Review, 5 July 2023, www.store.hbr.org/product/elon-musk-in-need-of-responsible-human-resource-management-practices-at-
Twitter/w32382?sku=W32382-PDF-ENG. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

13. “Elon Musk Admits Twitter Has ‘Negative Cash Flow’ Due to Roughly 50% Drop in Ad Revenue, Heavy Debt Load.” Fortune, 15 July 2023,
www.fortune.com/2023/07/15/elon-musk-Twitter-negative-cash-flow-ad-revenue-debt-load. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

12. Armstrong, Martin. “Twitter’s Growing Flock of Workers.” Statista Daily Data, 2 Nov. 2022, www.statista.com/chart/28617/Twitter-total-employees-
timeline. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

4. Supporting document 4: Netcials. “List of Financial Reports (Twitter Inc).” Netcials, www.netcials.com/search-results-
financials/?market=NYSE&ticker=TWTR&report=display&fin=yes. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.
 9

From the graph we understand that the employee base was constantly increasing in Twitter until the

aquisition. So, after the acquisition we must calculate the “Labour turnover which measures the percentage

of the workforce that leaves the organization in a given time period” [20]. In the context of X, there were

about 7,500 full-time workers prior to the takeover [12][9]. According to internal records obtained by CNBC,

X now employs around 1,300 people full-time [9][10]. According to Musk in a series of tweets, he stated that

Twitter currently employs around 2,300 people full-time [11].6

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑓𝑓 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔

𝐿𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑇𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 = × 100
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑓𝑓

CALCULATION Labour Turnover of Full

Time Staff after the
Acquisition (October 2022)
According to CNBC 7500 − 1300 82.67%
× 100
7500
According to Elon Musk 7500 − 2300 69.33%
× 100
(CEO) 7500

Table 4: Twitters Labour Turnover after the acquisition from two perspectives.

9. Kolodny, Lora. “Twitter Is Down to Fewer Than 550 Full-time Engineers.” CNBC, 21 Jan. 2023, www.cnbc.com/2023/01/20/Twitter-is-down-to-fewer-than-
550-full-time-engineers.html. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

10. Kolodny, Lora. “Elon Musk Demands Twitter Staff Commit to ‘long Hours’ or Leave: Read the Email.” CNBC, 17 Nov. 2022,
www.cnbc.com/2022/11/16/elon-musk-demands-Twitter-staff-commit-to-long-hours-or-leave.html. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

11. “Elon Musk.” Twitter, 21 Jan. 2023, www.Twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1616706530841333761. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

12. Armstrong, Martin. “Twitter’s Growing Flock of Workers.” Statista Daily Data, 2 Nov. 2022, www.statista.com/chart/28617/Twitter-total-employees-
timeline. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

20. HOANG, PAUL. Business Management 5th Edition. IBID PRESS, 2022, myibsource.com, https://myibsource.com/products/9781921917820. Accessed 16
Jan. 2024.
 10

As we can see, X had a high staff turnover rate post-acquisition of 69.33% or 82.67%. A number of factors

have contributed to this significant turnover, but the main one is the change in leadership: Musk’s autocratic

leadership style [15] . Furthermore, the downsizing measures [2] undoubtedly made employees contributed to

increased uncertainty and job insecurity among employees, prompting many to seek opportunities

elsewhere. "The process made some employees feel a "lack of care and thoughtfulness," and others unsure

about the fate of their team members" [2]. It suggests that the change in the CEOs organization's values and

culture are not compatible with one another [1] and acting without considering existing corporate culture

caused dissatisfaction within employees. A survey by I4CP titled "3/4 OF HR PROFESSIONALS

WOULDN’T WORK AT TWITTER"[21] reveals that the majority of survey participants are unhappy with

the HR changes at X (appendix C.). Therefore, I will examine organizational culture changes using

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions. 7

1. Supporting document 1: Bebchuk, Lucian, et al. How Twitter Pushed Stakeholders Under the Bus. Apr. 2023,
www.papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4330393. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

2. Supporting document 2: Agnihotri , Arpita, and Saurabh Bhattacharya. “Elon Musk: In Need of Responsible Human Resource Management Practices at
Twitter.” Harvard Business Review, 5 July 2023, www.store.hbr.org/product/elon-musk-in-need-of-responsible-human-resource-management-practices-at-
Twitter/w32382?sku=W32382-PDF-ENG. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

15. TechTarget. “Musk’s HR Management Style at Twitter Gets Harsh Reaction.” HR Software, 17 Nov. 2022,
www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/news/252527390/Musks-HR-management-style-at-Twitter-gets-harsh-reaction. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024.

21. “I4cp Survey: 3/4 of HR Professionals Wouldn’t Work at Twitter.” Institute for Corporate Productivity (I4cp), www.i4cp.com/productivity-blog/i4cp-survey-
3-4-of-hr-professionals-wouldnt-work-at-Twitter. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024.
 11

V. HOFSTEDE CULTURAL DIMENSIONS

The Dutch Social psychologist (1928-2020), Geert Henrik Hofstede studied links between international

cultures and organizational cultures [20], based on how we distinguish one group from another. Normally,

this tool gives insight into how organizational cultures differ in different countries, but I will be using 2

dimensions of culture to analyse how organizational culture in Twitter has differed before and after the

acquisition [1] . These cultural dimensions (Uncertainty avoidance and Indulgence versus self-restraint)

describe broad patterns of differences that may have caused culture clashes in Twitter.8

1. Uncertainty Avoidance:

This aspect refers to whether employees in the organization prefer structured routines (predictability) over

flexible structures. Twitter implemented a flexible work schedule in 2020, enabling staff members to work

online and take multiple days off as needed to rejuvenate [2]. Employees were able to work from home

because of this flexibility and homework structure. But when Musk became Twitter's CEO, he told staff

members that the firm’s policy of allowing workers to work-from-home was ending, and they had to come

back to the in-person office [2]. This created a gap between Twitters previous internal factors as employees

were accustomed to flexible structures rather than a structured routine, demanding them to come to office.

Such corporate cultures may work for a fast-paced innovative industry like Tesla and Space-X. However,

employees at Twitter had a high uncertainty avoidance, meaning therefore they drifted from Elon musk and

employee loyalty reduced, leading to high turnovers. Elons previous employees mention how his leadership

style is “intense” and “demanding” [14].

1. Supporting document 1: Bebchuk, Lucian, et al. How Twitter Pushed Stakeholders Under the Bus. Apr. 2023,
www.papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4330393. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

2. Supporting document 2: Agnihotri , Arpita, and Saurabh Bhattacharya. “Elon Musk: In Need of Responsible Human Resource Management Practices at
Twitter.” Harvard Business Review, 5 July 2023, www.store.hbr.org/product/elon-musk-in-need-of-responsible-human-resource-management-practices-at-
Twitter/w32382?sku=W32382-PDF-ENG. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

14. Supporting document 5: The Wall Street Journal. “Working for Elon Musk: Ex-Employees Reveal His Management Strategy | WSJ.” YouTube, 29 Nov. 2022,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEikQP8-es0. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024

20. HOANG, PAUL. Business Management 5th Edition. IBID PRESS, 2022, myibsource.com, https://myibsource.com/products/9781921917820. Accessed 16
Jan. 2024.
 12

Employees may view his approach to “working long hours at high intensity” [15] with low tolerance. This

may be caused due to uncertainties of the future of X and the disruption of their comfort zone. Elon Musk

may feel that reconstructing the workplace is necessary as it is “overstaffed” [16], but workers may not agree

as they are experts in their roles and don’t see a need for change, therefore leaving the company [14].

2. Indulgence Versus Self-restraint:

An indulgent culture is one that enables employees to speak whereas a culture that practices self-restraint

has strict regulation and control. Twitter was a company with high scores for indulgence, suggesting that

employees had a good work-life balance. “On the anonymous professional networking application Blind,

Twitter employees ranked Twitter's work-life balance at 4.4 out of 5.0 stars” [2]. However, other Musk-

owned companies have high self-restraint, meaning employees have less time to offer personal opinion and

have less time to enjoy life [14]. The work-life balance being very low, “Tesla and SpaceX receive 2.5 stars

and 2.1 stars, respectively” [2]. Nevertheless, Musk implemented the "24/7" (around-the-clock) work culture

at Twitter, which was already in place at Tesla and SpaceX [2][14]. 9

15. TechTarget. “Musk’s HR Management Style at Twitter Gets Harsh Reaction.” HR Software, 17 Nov. 2022,
www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/news/252527390/Musks-HR-management-style-at-Twitter-gets-harsh-reaction. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024.

2. Supporting document 2: Agnihotri, Arpita, and Saurabh Bhattacharya. “Elon Musk: In Need of Responsible Human Resource Management Practices at
Twitter.” Harvard Business Review, 5 July 2023, www.store.hbr.org/product/elon-musk-in-need-of-responsible-human-resource-management-practices-at-
Twitter/w32382?sku=W32382-PDF-ENG. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

4. Supporting document 3: Netcials. “List of Financial Reports (Twitter Inc).” Netcials, www.netcials.com/search-results-
financials/?market=NYSE&ticker=TWTR&report=display&fin=yes. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

14. Supporting document 5: The Wall Street Journal. “Working for Elon Musk: Ex-Employees Reveal His Management Strategy | WSJ.” YouTube, 29 Nov. 2022,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEikQP8-es0. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024

16. Sengupta, Abhik. “Elon Musk Asked How He Runs Twitter With 1500 Employees, Here Is What He Said.” India Today, 19 Apr. 2023,
www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/elon-musk-how-runs-Twitter-with-1500-employees-here-is-what-he-said-2361784-2023-04-19. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024.
 13

VI. CHANGE IN CORPORATE CULTURE

Corporate culture refers to the “norms of the organization which creates a foundation for the identity” [20] of

Twitter and now, X. However, due to the acquisition, organizational values are unaligned [1]. Due to

differences between Musk’s desired “hardcore” culture and Twitters flexitime work culture, there is a

culture gap [17] . 10

After the acquisition, the organizational structure of Twitter has become centralized and flatter [18], with a

wide span of control due to the high employee turnover. Previously, Twitter had a narrow and tall structure,

however Musk’s decision for employee layoffs had resulted in delayering, where decision making is

primarily done by him. Moreover, an employee stated that “It’s like Twitter’s culture has been completely

turned inside out overnight.” [19] Twitter has a slow decision-making process before to Musk's takeover,

which allowed management to reach a consensus, but a more authoritarian workflow was seen when Musk

took over the corporation [2]. According to former employees, Musk does not follow the traditional corporate

hierarchy. Elon won't pass information via multiple layers of management, suggesting the delayering. One

former employee stated, "If I were an employee at Twitter right now, I'd probably just do your job." [14]

Hence, I will be understanding X’s conflict priorities and stakeholder objectives through stakeholder

mapping that have been caused by this culture gap.

1. Supporting document 1: Bebchuk, Lucian, et al. How Twitter Pushed Stakeholders Under the Bus. Apr. 2023,
www.papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4330393. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

2. Supporting document 2: Agnihotri , Arpita, and Saurabh Bhattacharya. “Elon Musk: In Need of Responsible Human Resource Management Practices at
Twitter.” Harvard Business Review, 5 July 2023, www.store.hbr.org/product/elon-musk-in-need-of-responsible-human-resource-management-practices-at-
Twitter/w32382?sku=W32382-PDF-ENG. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

14. Supporting document 5: The Wall Street Journal. “Working for Elon Musk: Ex-Employees Reveal His Management Strategy | WSJ.” YouTube, 29 Nov. 2022,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEikQP8-es0. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024

17. TechTarget. “Musk’s HR Management Style at Twitter Gets Harsh Reaction.” HR Software, 17 Nov. 2022,
www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/news/252527390/Musks-HR-management-style-at-Twitter-gets-harsh-reaction. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024

18. Woo, Erin. “X Org Chart and Company Structure Hierarchy.” The Information, www.theinformation.com/org-charts/x. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024

19. Albinus, Phil. “HR Leader Resigns From Twitter as New Culture Becomes Clear.” HR Executive, 19 Apr. 2023, www.hrexecutive.com/hr-leader-resigns-from-
Twitter-as-new-culture-becomes-clear. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024

20. HOANG, PAUL. Business Management 5th Edition. IBID PRESS, 2022, myibsource.com, https://myibsource.com/products/9781921917820. Accessed 16
Jan. 2024.
 14

VII. STAKEHOLDER MAPPING

“Stakeholder mapping is a model” (appendix D.) “that considers the relative interest of stakeholders and

their relative power (influence) on Twitter” [20]. The stakeholders like Elon Musk (CEO), the employees,

consumers like the advertisers and competitors assess how X should deal with changing and conflicting

stakeholder objectives. While Elon Musk wants to maximize financial profits with maximum efficiency,

employees in X may want better working conditions and job security, which in turn improves efficiency and

profitability. Advertisers are consumers who aren’t internally involved yet have power over business

revenues and X needs to pay attention to their needs to keep them happy and loyal, so they don’t switch to

the competitors. 11

Level of Interest
Low High
Low A: Competitors B: Employees
Level of
Power High C: Advertisers D: CEO

Table 4: Twitters Stakeholder Mapping.

Due to the changes brought by the acquisition, employees must be kept informed and harmonised with the

CEO and change decisions. On the contrary, Advertises must be kept satisfied to maximize profitability and

liquidity. Although the CEO holds maximum power and interest, it's Musk’s responsibility as a leader to

ensure that these stakeholders are not violated or negatively affected.

20. HOANG, PAUL. Business Management Textbook page number 62 5th Edition. IBID PRESS, 2022 Accessed 16 Jan. 2024.
 15

VIII. THE FUTURE OF TWITTER: CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this analysis successfully answers the RQ “To what extent has acquisition of X (formerly

Twitter) by Elon Musk effected Twitter's stakeholders: employees and consumers?” by revealing that

the acquisition of Twitter led to a formidable challenge in transforming the company culture and

establishing a workplace where workers may grow. More than any change in business strategy, fostering a

positive corporate culture will ultimately improve the company's financial situation. Through the stakeholder

mapping, we can conclude that Elon Musk must consider X’s existing corporate culture and consumer wants

& needs before making changes in operations. However, further development of study is recommended in

order to fully address the morals regarding the protection of the laid-off employees and can also be

researched to understand the complete impact of employees. The findings and the analysis of this research

project was primarily restricted to only the consumers and employees who were most effected by the change

in company policies.
 16

IX. Appendix

Appendix A.

4.5/5 + 4/4.4 + 2.5/3.4

× 100 = 84.813%
3
Appendix B.

8.11% + 26% + 12%

= 15.37%
3

Appendix C.

Appendix D.

source: HOANG, PAUL. Business Management Textbook page number 62 5th Edition. IBID PRESS, 2022 Accessed 16 Jan. 2024.
 17

X. Citations

1. Supporting document 1: Bebchuk, Lucian, et al. How Twitter Pushed Stakeholders Under the Bus. Apr.

2023, www.papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4330393. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

2. Supporting document 2: Agnihotri, Arpita, and Bhattacharya, Saurabh. “Elon Musk: In Need of

Responsible Human Resource Management Practices at Twitter.” Harvard Business Review, 5 July 2023,

www.store.hbr.org/product/elon-musk-in-need-of-responsible-human-resource-management-practices-at-

Twitter/w32382?sku=W32382-PDF-ENG. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

3. Supporting document 3: Iqbal, Mansoor. “Twitter Revenue and Usage Statistics (2024) - Business of

Apps.” Business of Apps, 22 Feb. 2024, www.businessofapps.com/data/Twitter-

statistics/#:~:text=Twitter%20generated%20%243.4%20billion%20revenue%20in%202023,22%25%20decr

ease%20on%202022%20figures. Accessed 25 Feb. 2024.

4. Supporting document 4: “List of Financial Reports (Twitter Inc).” Netcials, www.netcials.com/search-

results financials/?market=NYSE&ticker=TWTR&report=display&fin=yes. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024

5. “A Timeline of Elon Musk’s Takeover of Twitter.” NBC News, 17 Nov. 2022,

www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/Twitter-elon-musk-timeline-what-happened-so-far-rcna57532.

Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

6. Vanamali, Krishna Veera. “Is Elon Musk Rewriting the HR Rulebook at Twitter?” www.business-

standard.com, 7 Nov. 2022, www.business-standard.com/podcast/companies/is-elon-musk-rewriting-the-hr-

rulebook-at-Twitter-122110500194_1.html. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

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7. Botelho, Bridget. “How Musk’s Twitter Takeover Could Affect Business Accounts.” Customer

Experience, 28 Oct. 2022, www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/news/252526670/How-Musks-

Twitter-takeover-could-affect-business-accounts. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

8. Zahn, Max. “A Timeline of Elon Musk’s Tumultuous Twitter Acquisition.” ABC News, 12 Nov. 2022,

www.abcnews.go.com/Business/timeline-elon-musks-tumultuous-Twitter-acquisition-

attempt/story?id=86611191. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

9. Kolodny, Lora. “Twitter Is Down to Fewer Than 550 Full-time Engineers.” CNBC, 21 Jan. 2023,

www.cnbc.com/2023/01/20/Twitter-is-down-to-fewer-than-550-full-time-engineers.html. Accessed 8 Jan.

2024.

10. Kolodny, Lora. “Elon Musk Demands Twitter Staff Commit to ‘long Hours’ or Leave: Read the Email.”

CNBC, 17 Nov. 2022, www.cnbc.com/2022/11/16/elon-musk-demands-Twitter-staff-commit-to-long-hours-

or-leave.html. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

11. Musk, Elon. “Twitter”, 21 Jan. 2023, www.Twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1616706530841333761.

Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

12. Armstrong, Martin. “Twitter’s Growing Flock of Workers.” Statista Daily Data, 2 Nov. 2022,

www.statista.com/chart/28617/Twitter-total-employees-timeline. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

13. Diaz, Alicia and Bloomberg “Elon Musk Admits Twitter Has ‘Negative Cash Flow’ Due to Roughly

50% Drop in Ad Revenue, Heavy Debt Load.” Fortune, 15 July 2023, www.fortune.com/2023/07/15/elon-

musk-Twitter-negative-cash-flow-ad-revenue-debt-load. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024.

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14. Supporting document 5: The Wall Street Journal. “Working for Elon Musk: Ex-Employees Reveal His

Management Strategy | WSJ.” YouTube, 29 Nov. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEikQP8-es0.

Accessed 12 Jan. 2024.

15. TechTarget. “Musk’s HR Management Style at Twitter Gets Harsh Reaction.” HR Software, 17 Nov.

2022, www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/news/252527390/Musks-HR-management-style-at-Twitter-

gets-harsh-reaction. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024.

16. Sengupta, Abhik. “Elon Musk Asked How He Runs Twitter With 1500 Employees, Here Is What He

Said.” India Today, 19 Apr. 2023, www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/elon-musk-how-runs-Twitter-

with-1500-employees-here-is-what-he-said-2361784-2023-04-19. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024.

17. TechTarget. “Musk’s HR Management Style at Twitter Gets Harsh Reaction.” HR Software, 17 Nov.

2022, www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/news/252527390/Musks-HR-management-style-at-Twitter-

gets-harsh-reaction. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024

18. Woo, Erin. “X Org Chart and Company Structure Hierarchy.” The Information,

www.theinformation.com/org-charts/x. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024

19. Albinus, Phil. “HR Leader Resigns From Twitter as New Culture Becomes Clear.” HR Executive, 19

Apr. 2023, www.hrexecutive.com/hr-leader-resigns-from-Twitter-as-new-culture-becomes-clear. Accessed

12 Jan. 2024

20. HOANG, PAUL. Business Management Textbook 5th Edition. IBID PRESS, 2022, Accessed 16 Jan.

2024.
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21. Lykins, Lorrie. “i4cp survey: 3/4 of hr professionals wouldn’t work at Twitter.” I4cp, 8 Nov. 2022,

https://www.i4cp.com/productivity-blog/i4cp-survey-3-4-of-hr-professionals-wouldnt-work-at-

Twitter. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024.