Mining the Discourse: Strategizing During BHP Billiton's Attempted Acquisition of Rio Tinto

Using a discourse‐analytic approach, we examine the strategizing that occurred during an attempted acquisition in 2007/08 of Rio Tinto by BHP Billiton. In doing so, we contribute to discursive studies of mergers and acquisitions in two significant respects. First, we show the importance of studying how actors external to, as well as those internal to BHP, exerted influence over the acquisition process and outcome. Their influence can be attributed, in part, to their use of rhetorical strategies during the negotiation of the meanings of three constructs that were central to the acquisition discourse. Second, our study shows how these rhetorical strategies were put into effect using not only linguistic, but also non‐linguistic modes of discourse such as imagery, indicators, and location. We conclude that obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the role of discourse in relation to a strategic activity – in this case an attempted acquisition – requires consideration of the multi‐modal rhetorical strategies brought to bear by both external and internal actors.     

The Causality Between R&D And Investment

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between R&D expenditure and investment in machinery and equipment in order to test for causality. New growth theory emphasises the role of R&D in creating blueprints needed to produce new capital goods implicitly assuming causality running from R&D to investment. Other recent studies using firm level data have investigated the relationship between innovative activity and investment in fixed capital. In this paper we use aggregate data from the US economy on R&D expenditure in the industrial sector and aggregate investment in machinery and equipment. Standard Granger causality tests, together with the Hsiao version, are then performed, showing that causality runs from R&D to investment. In addition we perform a cointegration analysis allowing a test of possible long-run feedbacks. This dynamic representation shows that any feedback between investment and R&D is only significant in the long run.     

Investment cash flow sensitivity and financial constraint: a cluster analysis approach

This article sheds light on the mixed empirical evidence concerning financial constraint and investment sensitivity to cash flow. The literature suggests that measuring financial constraint is far from straightforward, and we therefore propose a cluster analysis procedure to identify unambiguous groups of constrained firms. We found the investment results to be highly sensitive to cash flow for financial constraint firms. Moreover, in line with previous research, our results showed that the traditional criteria used to identify financially constrained firms led to ambiguous interpretations. Overall, our results propose that the cluster analysis can be used to encompass the various single-criterion approaches, thereby providing a finer measurement of the financial constraint construct and deeper insight into the relationship between investment sensitivity to cash flow and financial constraint.     

Gatekeepers' Perceptions of Thai Geographical Indication Products in Europe

This study is aimed at exploring perceptions of European gatekeepers toward renowned Thai fruit and coffee products protected by geographical indication (GI) and factors influencing purchasing decision of gatekeepers toward imported food products. Sixteen qualitative interviews with distribution channel gatekeepers were administered in Austria, Italy, and Switzerland in 2010. Content analysis and concept mapping were used to analyze data. Results show that Thai GI products might be interesting for European gatekeepers, but the GI attribute alone might not be sufficient to ensure that the product is successful. Support of consistent information and promotion campaigns and fulfillment of other gatekeepers' requirements of both products and suppliers are necessary.     

Post‐formation dynamics in strategic alliances

This paper investigates the occurrence and determinants of post‐formation governance changes in strategic alliances, including alterations in alliances' contracts, boards or oversight committees, and monitoring mechanisms. We examine alliances in the biotechnology industry and find that firms' unique alliance experience trajectories affect the likelihood of such ex post adjustments in these partnerships. Transactional features such as the alliance's scope, its division of labor, and the relevance of the collaboration to the parent firm also bear upon alliances' dynamics. We discuss the implications of these findings and how they complement prior research focusing on alliance design or termination at opposite ends of the alliance life cycle. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Animation attracts: The attraction effect in an on‐line shopping environment

Two studies examine the attraction effect—an inconsistent choice behavior typically observed when consumers are presented with two products (target and competitor), both good for different reasons, and a worse “decoy”—in the context of online consumer decisions with different product displays (animated or static). The experiments, with different participant populations, show that the attraction effect in an online shopping environment depends on the animation format of the products. Experiment 1 (with Italian participants) suggests that the attraction effect is eliminated when target and competitor are both animated and is accentuated when the target is animated and the competitor is static, regardless of whether the decoy is animated or static. Experiment 2 replicates this animation/attraction effect in the United States, where on line shopping is more common than in Italy. The paper concludes with theoretical and practical implications for on line shopping. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Deliberate learning in corporate acquisitions: post‐acquisition strategies and integration capability in U.S. bank mergers

This paper introduces a knowledge‐based view of corporate acquisitions and tests the post‐acquisition consequences on performance of integration decisions and capability‐building mechanisms. In our model, the acquiring firm decides both how much to integrate the acquired firm and the extent to which it replaces this firm's top management team. It can also learn to manage the post‐acquisition integration process by tacitly accumulating acquisition experience and explicitly codifying it in manuals, systems, and other acquisition‐specific tools. Using a sample of 228 acquisitions in the U.S. banking industry, we find that knowledge codification strongly and positively influences acquisition performance, while experience accumulation does not. Furthermore, increasing levels of post‐acquisition integration strengthen the positive effect of codification. Finally, the level of integration between the two merged firms significantly enhances performance, while replacing top managers in the acquired firm negatively impacts performance, all else being equal. Implications are drawn for both organizational learning theory and a knowledge‐based approach to corporate strategy research. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development Policy Lending, Conditionality, and Ownership: A Dynamic Agency Model Perspective

Is the World Bank's Development Policy Lending likely to enhance ownership and have greater effectiveness than structural adjustment? We specify a dynamic common agency model in which a government considering economic reform faces domestic opposition from interest groups. The dynamic specification, which is original in the context of policy reforms supported by the International Financial Institutions (IFIs), is essential to allow the strength of special interest groups to arise endogenously during the reform process. We show that conditionality may alter the country's political equilibrium and lead to higher social welfare. However, under certain circumstances which depend on country‐specific circumstances, conditional assistance could lead to lower social welfare. Thus, for conditionality not to be inconsistent with ownership, its design must be appropriate to the country circumstances and directly affect the domestic political constraint.     

Does technological innovation undertaken alone have a real pivotal role? Product and marketing innovation in manufacturing firms

This paper investigates the role of non-technological innovation on firms' innovation propensity and performance. We note that emphasis on technological innovation alone is misleading, as a firm's decision to undertake technological innovation brings about a more complex and general process which may involve new attitudes regarding organization and market orientation. We analyse the relationship between product and marketing innovation in manufacturing, focusing specifically on the food industry. We propose a bivariate probit model in which product and marketing innovation are estimated taking into account their reciprocal interactions. This enables us to provide more efficient and realistic estimates of a firm's probability of introducing either a new or improved product or a new marketing technique. In addition, the proposed model provides the determinants of such probabilities.     

The First Review of European Union Antidumping Reviews

The literature on antidumping (AD) has documented various aspects of this protectionist tool. However, a peculiar feature of AD has not received much attention: these measures are endogenous to the behaviour of the exporting firms, which can adjust the dumping margin by changing their export price and ask the authority to amend the AD measures accordingly. The objective of this paper is to fill part of this gap in the literature by analysing the AD reviews conducted by the European Union for affirmative petitions initiated in 1980–2009. To this end, a novel data set of all such reviews has been assembled. Summary statistics reveal that more than a third of all petitions concluded with the imposition of AD measures are reviewed at least once before their expiration, and most reviews lead to lower AD duties (although, almost 20 per cent of the firms investigated through interim reviews see their duties increase). There are significant differences in the outcome of the reviews depending on the party requesting them (i.e. reviews lodged by European producers are less likely to lead to lower duties). These conclusions are confirmed by the econometric analysis, which also shows that Chinese firms see their duties reduced significantly less than those of firms from other countries.