Driven by aspirations,but in what direction? Performance shortfalls,slack resources,and resource‐consuming vs. resource‐freeing organizational change

Research summary : Prior literature drawing on the behavioral theory of the firm has not considered how resource constraints impact the direction of organizational change in response to performance shortfalls relative to aspirations. We argue that decreasing financial resources resulting from substantial performance shortfalls and the absence or availability of slack resources together affect the emphasis on different types of organizational change in response to performance shortfalls. Using data on the acquisition and divestment behavior of 530 companies in the information and communications technology sector from 1992 to 2014, we find that the frequency of resource‐consuming acquisitions and of resource‐freeing divestments are affected differently by performance below aspirations and that these relationships are moderated by the level of financial slack. Managerial summary : This paper examines whether firms respond to performance shortfalls with acquisitions or divestments. We argue and show that the closer the firm is to the aspired level of performance, the more likely it is to respond with resource‐consuming acquisitions to close the performance gap, whereas the further it is from aspired performance, the more likely the firm is to respond with divestments to free resources. Financial slack weakens these relationships between performance relative to aspirations and acquisitions or divestments such that it increases the likelihood of a response through acquisitions while it reduces the likelihood of a response through divestments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Prospects for European Bank Concentration in Light of Recent US Experience

ABSTRACT

Recent United States experience is used to draw implications for European bank concentration. The basic hypothesis is that US concentration is driven by the need to internalise risk reduction activities and that this is done by creating an internal market comprising multiple financial activities. A similar process seems to be at work in Europe after the Single Market Act and the various European commission directives have made it possible for banks to operate across national boundaries. That there has been little EU cross-border merger activity suggests additional impediments. One is the absence of a single EU regulatory agency that limits the benefits of expanding activity across borders.

RESUMEN. La reciente experiencia estadounidense se está utilizando para determinar implicancias para la concentración de los bancos europeos. La hipótesis básica es que la concentración de los EE.UU. está siendo impulsada por la necesidad de internalizar las actividades de riesgo y que esto se logra creando un mercado interno compuesto por múltiples actividades financieras. Un proceso similar parece haberse puesto en marcha en Europa después de la Ley del Mercado Único y las diversas disposiciones emitidas por las comisiones europeas han permitido a la banca operar en transacciones transfronterizas. El hecho que hasta el momento haya habido pocas operaciones de fusión a través de las fronteras de la Unión Europea sugiere la existencia de impedimentos adicionales. Uno es la ausencia de una agencia única de la Unión Europea que limite los beneficios de expandir estas actividades a través de las fronteras.

RESUMO. A recente experiência americana é usada para verificar as implicaç[otilde]es da concentração bancária européia. A hipótese fundamental é de que a concentração americana tem sido conduzida pela necessidade de internalizar as atividades de redução de risco e que isto é feito através da criação de um mercado interno que envolve múltiplas atividades financeiras. Um processo semelhante parece estar acontecendo na Europa, a partir da Lei do Mercado Único, e as diversas comiss[otilde]es diretivas européias, que possibilitaram aos bancos operar através das fronteiras nacionais. O fato de ter havido poucas fus[otilde]es internacionais sugere a existência de outros impedimentos. Um deles é a ausência de uma única agência reguladora da União Européia, que tem limitado os benefícios da atividade de expansão entre as fronteiras dos países.     

基于企业DNA理论研究企业并购机理

从仿生学的角度研究企业并购,利用企业DNA理论提供一种分析路径,同时以联想并购整合IBMPC业务部的案例为研究背景,阐述了企业间并购导致企业基因重组,并购这种发展方式对于企业就像生物体的有性繁殖方式,能够使企业基因双倍化,从而提高了企业进化速度,形成更适应市场环境的企业。     

基于建立估价模型的企业并购绩效评价研究

企业并购绩效可借助一些方法加以评价,本文重点研究建立估价模型评价并购绩效。本文首先深入研究建立估价模型评价企业并购绩效的基本原理；在此基础上,通过对具体案例并购绩效实证研究进一步验证文中观点。本文认为建立估价模型、借助于EVA评价企业并购绩效是一种比较理想的方法。     

Towards a cohesive curriculum tourism: The case for a distinct discipline

This paper addresses a controversial topic in tourism scholarship which is simultaneously a problem and an opportunity in tourism education: the philosophical issue of academic disciplines and specifically, the question of a distinct discipline in tourism studies. It is argued that the orthodox approach to tourism education, multi-disciplinary studies, has become an impediment. It is suggested that a new discipline can be created by organizing the existing body of knowledge and that such a discipline can become the core of an inter-disciplinary approach. Certain characteristics of an embryonic discipline are outlined and innovations in this area at Sydney Technical College are discussed.     

Tourism occupations,career profiles and knowledge

This paper summarizes the approach and main findings of a research study undertaken by the Tourism Society into occupations, career profiles and knowledge requirements of professionals engaged in tourism. It outlines the main stages in the research program, including the identification of a body of knowledge about tourism, the development of an occupational classification, and a survey of professionals employed in tourism. It then presents and comments on findings covering occupational classifications, career profiles and knowledge requirements, making particular reference to the implications for tourism education. The study is very much a pioneering work in this field and it is confined to the experiences of the United Kingdom.     

Sales channel integration after mergers and acquisitions: A methodological approach for avoiding common pitfalls

This article addresses the integration of sales channels after mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by appraising the strengths, weaknesses, and biases associated with the four most common frameworks for evaluating sales channels (sales management, historical performance, strategic fit, and customer choice) for their appropriateness in a post-M&A context. The authors develop a methodological approach that uses a balanced-scorecard framework to guide managers through the sales channel integration process, and then apply this approach to the merger of two industrial firms' sales organizations across 21 territories. In so doing, they reveal various pitfalls and propose and test some analytical corrections. Longitudinal performance data support comparisons across the different evaluative frameworks; in particular, the sales management and customer choice frameworks provide the most insight into channel partners' post-integration performance. The results support the premise that channel integration can be improved by accounting for factors unique to the M&A context and using an approach that triangulates multiple perspectives.     

What they know vs. what they do: how acquirers leverage technology acquisitions

Existing research suggests that in acquisitions of small technology‐based firms by large established firms post‐merger integration both enables and hinders acquirers' efforts to leverage the technology of acquired firms. This apparent paradox can be resolved once we account for the qualitatively distinct ways in which acquirers leverage technology acquisitions. Integration helps acquirers use the acquired firm's existing knowledge as an input to their own innovation processes (leveraging what they know), but hinders their reliance on the acquired firm as an independent source of ongoing innovation (leveraging what they do). We also show that experienced acquirers are better able to mitigate the disruptive consequences of the loss of autonomy entailed by integration, though we find no evidence that they achieve greater coordination benefits from integration. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hybridization: Understanding the microdynamics of a postacquisition integration process

There is no shortage of theoretical or empirical research on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Knowledge on the subject has grown substantially in recent decades. However, the integration of firms involved in M&A remains a challenging and often unsuccessful process. In addition, there is a scarcity of research on temporal dynamics within integration projects. This article reports on the postacquisition integration of a business school into a university using the concept of organizational hybridization as a theoretical lens. The aim was to identify the microdynamics that occurred during integration. We conducted an inductive case study, interviewing professionals involved in the integration process, analyzing a wide range of documents, and conducting participant observation over 6 years. Field research revealed that different organizational components underwent distinct hybridization processes that were characterized by different degrees of conflict. This study contributes to the understanding of the microdynamics that occur in postmerger or postacquisition integration processes, focusing on the complex adjustments inherent in these developments.     

The function-specific microfoundations of dynamic capabilities in cross-border mergers and acquisitions

In mergers and acquisitions, the acquiring firm must combine two firms’ resources and capabilities so that the outcome yields value. In individual firms, the marketing & sales, and R&D functions have typically developed intertwined and complex relationships over time. These multifaceted dependencies may obscure the integration of the firms and their functions. In order to reveal to what extent cross-functional relationships determine the success or failure of an acquisitions, we have made one of the first attempts to study merging firms’ function-specific capabilities, underlying microfoundations, and their cross-functional relationships during the integration process—instead of focusing on acquisition capabilities as such. We use longitudinal data from two cross-border acquisitions between US and Finnish SMEs. Our results indicate that major differences between merging firms’ cross-functional microfoundations—that is, their structures, processes, routines, and skills—might either enforce or erode the seemingly promising synergies at the product and market levels, depending on managerial awareness of their nature.