The Management of International Acquisitions

John Child · David Faulkner · Robert Pitkethly

Feb. 2001 · OUP Oxford

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This book addresses two important areas of concern for managers and management researchers. What are the management challenges involved in the acquisition of a foreign subsidiary? Why do companies pursue a strategy of growth through acquisition when the evidence shows performance is disappointing? In addition to addressing these questions, the authors examine both the acquisitions of foreign companies in the UK and the 'acquirers' themselves. They discuss the theoretical background to the debate over the significance of national management practices as opposed to international norms of practice shaped by global forces transcending national boundaries. They then compare and contrast the management practices of the five countries from which the acquirers covered in this book originate: the UK, the USA, Japan, France, and Germany. The authors' research indicates that while considerable convergence is taking place on many dimensions of management practice, distinct national management styles still exist among acquiring companies. The findings also show that although some policies are generally associated with better post-acquisition performance across the board, no one national approach is more successful than another, so long as it is implemented with confidence, determination, and consistency. Failure tends to follow from a lack of these qualities, rather than from having the 'wrong' management style.

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John Child holds the Chair of Commerce at the Birmingham Business School. He was the Founding Director of both the Centre for International Business and Management, University of Cambridge and of the Chinese Management Centre, University of Hong Kong. He is now Director of the Centre for International Business and Organization at Birmingham. He consults for major corporations in the areas of strategic alliances, organizaitonal design, organizational learning, and business operations in China. His books include Strategies of Cooperation (with David Faulkner, OUP 1998) and he is co-editor of the Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge (OUP 2001). David Faulkner is University Lecturer in Strategic Management at the Saïd Business School and Tutorial Fellow at Christ Church, University of Oxford. He spent much of his career as a strategic management consultant with McKinsey and Co. and Arthur D. Little before moving into academic life. He has been Deputy Director (undergraduate courses) and Deputy Director (MBA) of the Saïd Business School. His publications include Strategies of Co-operation (with John Child, OUP 1998), Co-operative Strategies: Economic, Business, and Organanizational Issues (edited with Mark de Rond, OUP 2000), and the Oxford Handbook of Strategy (2 volumes, edited with Andrew Campbell, OUP 2003). Robert Pitkethly is a University Lecturer in Management Studies at the Saïd Business School, teaching strategic management and management of intellectual property. He is also a Fellow and Tutor in Management at St. Peter's College, University of Oxford. Previous apppointments have included Visiting Fellow at both the Institute of Intellectual Property and the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy in Tokyo, and Research Fellow at the Judge Institute of Management Studies, University of Cambridge.