Today, the growing power of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and the ongoing evolution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) are two important forces in the process of globalisation (Beck 2000). ICTs are regarded as one control revolution driver (Beringer 1986) and used by MNEs to control their subsidiaries (Finnegan and Longaigh 2002). There have been few studies looking at ICTs within MNEs (Torre and Moxon 2001) and their global and social aspects. In the past decades, IS researchers have recognised the impact of cultural differences on the use and development of ICTs. But many of them apply Hofstede's (1980) national culture model that is simplistic and systematic as argued by Avison and Myers (1995), who call for the contemporary anthropological view of culture. This thesis considers how the head offices of UK multinationals use ICTs and other mechanisms such as financial reporting systems, expatriates and face-to-face contacts to control their subsidiaries and joint ventures (JVs) in China across time and space in the context of globalisation. Giddens's theory ofmodemity (1990, 1991) and an anthropological view of culture (Westrup et al. 2004) are identified as main theoretical resources and insights to analyse and interpret the qualitative data collected from three UK manufacturing MNEs. As one type of disembedding mechanisms or expert systems (Giddens 1990, 1991), ICTs are mainly implicated in changing time-space configurations (such as speeding up information and communication transfer); facilitating the displacement oflocal activities; and formalising and standardising business processes and information transfer. Therefore, the head offices of the three UK MNEs can use ICTs and other expert systems as panoptic and disciplinary mechanisms to indirectly and impersonally monitor, check and predict the activities of their JV s and subsidiaries in China. On the other hand, the seemingly 'closeness' through ICTs 'filters out' or misrepresents much oflocal culture and knowledge that occur in different local contexts. ICT -mediated spaces are not rootless and boundless in these cases. ICTs specialise in producing and transferring standardised, disembedded or decontextualised information and consequently bind social interaction and human interpretation. Control based on the information is not rational and transparent, but contested between the global (e.g. ICTs) and the local (e.g. local management). leTs themselves do not automatically possess the panoptic and disciplinary power. Instead, human interpretations through continuous face-to-face contacts at places are vital in understanding the disembedded information through leTs and reducing the information's abstractness and decontexualisation. Human interpretation and action are also essential in (re) interpreting and (re) producing cultural processes in terms of cultural conflict and contradiction, dynamics, heterogeneity and similarities within networks of resources such as leTs, place and leadership. Organisational cultural values are not simply national, traditional, shared and memories traced in people's minds and do not determine their behaviour. Therefore leT -related cultural values cannot completely dominate and define organisational members' thinking and action and produce stable and predictable organisational control.

This study is concerned to examine the relationship between the geographical diversification of a company's production facilities and the pricing of its shares by the investors. The purpose is to establish whether multinational company (mnc) shares are priced differently from domestic company shares. The objective of ,the research is to find empirical evidence in UK that investing in multinational company shares provide investors with international diversification compared to investing in domestic company shares. The main four specific questions investigated are: 1. Does a portfolio of multinational company shares give more diversification benefit than a portfolio of domestic company shares? 2. Does the stock market price domestic company shares and multinational company shares in two segmented markets? 3. Do domestic company shares have different sources of systematic risk compared with multinational company shares? 4. Do market players i.e., investors use multinational company shares as a vehicle of international diversification? The research questions are investigated through the theoretical framework of equilibrium asset pricing models - CAPM and APT and through a questionnaire survey of a sample of portfolio managers. Comparison of systematic risk (beta), risk-adjusted return (return/beta) and risk premium (market return over risk-free return) of large objective comprehensive samples of UK multinational companies and domestic companies over the period 1978 to 1992 found no evidence that multinational company shares generate any benefits of diversification for their shareholder above that provided by domestic company shares. There is no market segmentation in pricing the domestic and multinational company shares and they have similar structure of systematic risk factors. Majority (63%) of the surveyed portfolio managers do not use multinational company shares to diversify their portfolios internationally. Therefore, the conclusion is that the market does not recognise UK multinationals as a vehicle of international diversification. In fact, European integration has made UK multinational companies with only European subsidiaries equivalent to pure uK' domestic companies.

Over the last several years (and especially since China's admission to the World Trade Organisation in 2001) merger and acquisition (M&A) activities in China have increased significantly as a result of the rapid growth in the Chinese economy and the measures which the Chinese government has taken to modernise the laws and regulations which govern its securities markets. Despite this, only a few researchers have studied M&A activities in China in any depth. Moreover, such research as has been conducted on Chinese M&A activities is mainly concerned with the laws and regulations affecting the area and not with their economic consequences. Hence, the particular concern of this dissertation is with the economic benefits that accrue to the shareholders of Chinese acquiring and target firms from the M&A activities that have occurred in the People s Republic of China over the last twenty years. In particular, our study encompasses a theoretical, institutional and empirical analysis of Chinese M&A activities. M&A activities in China are governed by a number of laws and regulations of which the Takeover Measures, 2006, is undoubtedly the most important. Our analysis in the early part of the dissertation summarises the legal framework under which M&A activities are conducted in China. In particular, the Takeover Measures, 2006 aim to make Chinese laws in the M&A area more compatible with best international practice. Furthermore, a new Anti-Monopoly Law, which addresses the anti-trust issues associated with mergers and acquisitions came into force on 1 August 2008. Amongst other things, this new Anti-Monopoly Law addresses issues of anti-trust and declaration thresholds in M&A activities in China. Besides these issues, the early chapters of the dissertation summarise the Chinese laws dealing with cross-border mergers and acquisitions, the laws relating to the issue of new shares, the laws relating to share swap transactions and the important provisions affecting the regulation of special purpose companies (SPCs). The dissertation then turns to an empirical analysis of the economic benefits which accrue to the shareholders of Chinese target and Chinese acquiring firms as a result of their M&A activities. Our analysis is based on the standard market model methodology using both the Dimson (1979) and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimates of equity betas. We also employ an hitherto unused nonparametric testing procedure based on the Corrado (1989) rank test in order to enhance the robustness of our empirical analysis. Suffice it to say that the empirical analysis summarised in the dissertation shows that there are significant abnormal returns around the takeover announcement date for the holders of equity securities in Chinese target firms. This is a result which mirrors much of the empirical research conducted on M&A activities in western economies. Interestingly, however, a significant proportion of these abnormal returns decay away within a few weeks following the takeover announcement date. In contrast, there are few, if any, economic benefits for the holders of equity securities in Chinese acquiring firms from their M&A activities. In this respect our results for Chinese acquiring firms are very similar to those obtained by researchers for western acquiring firms, although there are some important differences. In particular, there appear to be statistically significant and positive abnormal returns for shareholders of Chinese acquiring firms around the takeover announcement date but these generally decay away over the next ten to fifteen trading days thereby leaving the shareholders of Chinese acquiring firms with no significant benefits from their M&A activities. We provide some possible explanations for this phenomenon by linking our empirical results with the Chinese political, economic and capital systems. A fundamental decision the directors of acquiring firms must make is whether the mode of consideration for takeovers ought to be in cash or some alternative medium of exchange. Prior research in western countries shows that the mode of consideration used in takeovers can have a significant impact on the abnormal returns which accrue to the shareholders of both acquiring and target firms. Our empirical analysis of this issue shows that when the mode of consideration is purely in cash the abnormal returns which accrue to the shareholders of Chinese target firms around the takeover announcement date are positive and significantly different from zero. In contrast, there are no economic benefits (and indeed, probably economic losses) for the shareholders of Chinese target firms when the consideration for takeovers is other than purely in cash. For Chinese acquiring firms there are significant positive abnormal returns when the consideration for takeovers is other than purely in cash. However, when cash is used as the sole mode of consideration by Chinese acquiring firms there are very few, if any, economic benefits for their shareholders. The concluding sections of the dissertation note that our calculation of the abnormal returns that accrue to firms involved in Chinese M&A activities is based exclusively on the standard market model - which is empirical counterpart of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). In recent years, however, Fama and French (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996) amongst other authors have suggested that the CAPM has serious deficiencies and that these deficiencies flow through to the standard market model on which the empirical analysis of Chinese M&A activities summarised in this dissertation is based. We show, however, that the Fama and French Asset Pricing Model (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996) has numerous deficiencies of its own and that to base the calculation of abnormal returns upon this model has the potential to lead to a seriously flawed analysis of the abnormal returns which accrue to the shareholders of Chinese firms involved in M&A activities and on which our empirical analysis is based. Key Words: M&A activities, Modified Corrado test, Corrado test, Patell test, average abnormal returns (AARs), cumulative average abnormal returns (CAARs), mode of consideration, A shareholders, B shareholders, H shareholders, Chinese target firms, Chinese acquiring firms.

This thesis investigates the reference point effect on M&As. Prospect theory proposes that the reference dependence bias is firmly rooted in people’s minds, affirming that people rely heavily on a piece of relevant information while making decisions. This thesis applies this reference point to M&As, showing that M&A participants are subject to reference-dependence bias. The reference point theory explains the M&A motives in a new way. The results of this thesis offer important implications to M&A practitioners. Baker et al. (2012) suggest that the target’s reference price enhances the target’s bargaining power in the U.S. market, inspiring the author’s thinking that the reference point effect is likely to be reinforced in a competitive market and in the scenario where the bidder is in the face of considerable information barriers. In this pursuit, Chapter 3 studies the reference point effect on a sample of public acquisitions involving a U.K. target. Using the target 52-week high as the reference price, a positive relationship emerges between the reference price and the offer premium. Further, there is evidence of overpayment among domestic bidders whereas little evidence among cross-border bidders, indicating that the market acquiesces the payment according to the target reference point among cross-border bidders. Evidence that reference- dependence bias serves as the bargaining power is confirmed outside the United States. However, the real M&A motive of the bidder is unlikely to be revealed solely depending on the target reference point. Therefore, Chapter 4 extends Baker et al.’s paper (2012) by adding both the target and the bidder reference points. A Relative Reference Point (RRP) is proposed for M&A misvaluations as per Shleifer and Vishny (2003), indicating the extent to which the bidder is more overvalued relatively to the target. The joint reference point effects can explain the motivation of why bidders paying high offer premiums. The results obtained in this chapter show that bidders are likely to pay with stocks when RRP increases, suggesting that bidders accelerating the process of overvaluation dilution is a sign of bidder overvaluation. In addition, the offer premium increases with the RRP, indicating the motive of diluting overvaluation is to be seen by the target, leading targets to bargain over high offer premiums. When assessing the long-term performance of stock bidders, it became evident that bidders time the market by paying stocks according to the RRP. A direct implication of prospect theory is that people seek risk in the face of loss gauged by a reference point. Chapter 5 proposes the bidder reference point to assess the market anticipation effect. Investors suffer mental loss when their firm’s current performance is significantly below its best recently achieved performance. They anticipate that the firm will take risks to turn the table round. It was evident that the firm is rewarded with positive market reactions when it takes risks according to the market’s anticipation. In a further analysis, it also emerged that managers taking the market-anticipated risks exhibit greater efforts in the processes of M&A negotiation and post-merger integration, reflected in the low offer premiums paid to the target shareholders and positive long-term abnormal returns earned. This thesis has empirically investigated many implications of the reference point effect in the M&A context. The main aim of this thesis is to simplify M&A decisions for managers in order to structure M&A effectively.

The first topic this thesis examines is that of firms which enter and leave cartels without affecting the existence of the cartel. The first chapter predicts which firms in markets will choose to join and leave cartels. The findings align with a group of theoretical models identified in the literature review, indicating that cartel membership is explained by firms' individual preferences for collusion, which are consistent over time. The firms most likely to join and leave cartels are small firms in large cartels. The second chapter questions what effect this behaviour by firms has on the survivability of cartels. Theory is ambiguous on this, since entry and exit by firms could signal poor discipline among cartelists which prevents the cartel from raising prices substantially due to undercutting by outsiders or it could signal a structurally stable cartel which marginal firms take advantage of in their membership decisions. Cartels which experienced more entry and exit by firms had a lower risk of breakdown in each period than cartels with more static membership, indicating that member firms recognise when cartels are strong and take advantage of this by constantly re-evaluating their membership decisions. The final chapter discusses a different topic: the types of agreement formed by cartels. All cartels must agree to either fix prices, restrict the output of its members, allocate exclusive territories, allocation customers, or rig bids in order to fulfil their objective of raising member profits. Many cartels engage in more than one of these practices simultaneously. Structural variables are poor at predicting the presence of agreement types in the cartels studied, but distinct strategy profiles where certain agreement types substitute for each other or complement each other are present. These strategy profiles appear to be associated with particular industries and cartels of common geographical scope.

Since Alfred Marshall propounded industrial clusters, the study of spatial organisation over the years has revealed numerous benefits of agglomeration to businesses, countries and regions. Until recently, discussions on the gains associated with internationalising clusters have mainly been situated within the developed economy setting. The key drivers of exporting clusters have mostly been related to cases within more functioning institutional environments. However, factors responsible for driving exporting activities in clusters within developing economies’ setting are a current phenomenon in academic enquiry that has received minimal attention. Thus, the study aims to fill the knowledge gap by investigating the emergence of and dynamism within clusters, thereby understanding the key drivers of exporting fruit processing cluster activities in developing economies like Ghana. The study focuses on spatial and internationalisation theories to draw out key concepts on networking and knowledge. The research adopts a mixed methods approach, using 99 surveys and 24 interviews, to empirically study actors in two fruit processing and exporting clusters. The findings show that, comparatively, palm processing businesses have a more socially embedded network structure that drives exporting activities in the cluster as opposed to the more formal business-like relationship in the pineapple cluster. As a result, parallel social institutions have emerged among the palm processing businesses which are enhancing their exporting capabilities. The findings also reveal how pineapple processors, due to their more outward-looking nature, have been able to externally acquire and transmit ‘tacit’ knowledge on MD2 pineapples through an entrepreneur ‘gatekeeper’. Further evidence shows that processing businesses in the pineapple cluster are mostly set up to internationalise from the onset due to the presence of external investors and the exposure of entrepreneurs to international markets. The results provide a compelling case of born global businesses within a developing economy setting. The research contributes to extant theoretical development and understanding of the key drivers of exports within clustered businesses. Particularly, it emphasises the role spatial organisation plays in exporting clusters within the developing economy setting.

In this thesis, I reviewed the past mergers and acquisitions in China, calculated the acquirer post mergers short and long run performances, indentified the factors related to the performances, and discussed the possible reasons of these factors. Firstly, I reviewed past literature of mergers and acquisition. Especially, the Chinese merger and acquisition activity, including three subgroups: Chinese overseas merger, Chinese domestic mergers, and foreign overseas mergers. Second, I endeavour to review the past twenty years of M&A activity. I calculated the short and long abnormal return in different time intervals for the three subgroups and offered possible explanations for the results. I also classified different groups based on payment method, acquirer ownership, previous merger experience, target status, merger type, final completion status, and target listing status. Certain groups experience significantly higher abnormal returns than other groups, and different subgroups exhibit significantly different returns. Thirdly, I determined whether buyers are winners or losers and to identify the factors that affect buyer performance. Several newly recognized factors in the Chinese market, such as state owned ownership, final completion status, and momentum effect are applied in the analysis. Finally, I compared the post-merger results and differences in explanatory factors between different groups and markets with the results of other researchers. I used different time interval short and long run abnormal return as dependent variables. The independent variables were in three groups, including acquirer financial characteristics, deals unique characteristics and momentum effect factors. These factors have different impacts on different groups. In the short-term, financial factors, merger characteristics and previous performance have very limited effects on returns. The impacts of variables on short term abnormal return are largest for Chinese domestic mergers and acquisitions, moderate for foreign buyer mergers, and non-existent for Chinese overseas mergers. In the long run, these factors have more explanatory power.

This work is a case study of a Southern Fair Trade Organisation (SFTO), with the objective of uncovering the complexities of working within Fair Trade (FT) and Mainstream Markets (MM) simultaneously. It employs the concept of ‘institutional logics’ (IL) to analyse and suggest resolutions to the mainstreaming dilemma from an organisational perspective. The SFTO chosen for the case study is Allpa, based in Lima, Peru, which has been operating in the market for 30 years. The research questions addressed were: 1. What is an organisation’s experience of dealing with multiple logics? 2. How does an organisation respond to potential tensions and contradictions arising from being surrounded by multiple logics? 3. How is the organisation’s identity shaped in the process? This research makes a contribution to both FT and IL literature by illuminating the complex setting of SFTOs in which the logics of FT, MM and Local Producers (LP) are all prominent. I found that organisational structure, communication and flexibility can change how an organisation experiences logic multiplicity. Through changing its organisational structure and communication methods, Allpa has managed to increase the degree of compatibility between the different logics. As a result, Allpa has combined and blended the three logics creating a hybrid organisational form with a new identity and has become a translator between two different worlds. The study also found that organisational leadership is a significant determinant of the organisational experience of institutional complexity, and hence the response to it. This study makes a contribution to IL theory through identifying three institutional logics, and highlighting the “bottom up” influence of one of the logics. This work illustrates the dynamics of responding to multiple logics “on the ground”, and has implications for FT research and practice.

Inspired by some newly emerged topics from the real world, this thesis comprises of four essays that study firms’ strategic incentives, as well as the vertical and horizontal agreements between firms. The first essay assesses theoretically firms’ incentives to engage in quality proliferation. We show that it is possible for vertical proliferation to be completely undesirable in the absence of entry threats, therefore proliferation of any level might be anticompetitive. Nevertheless, when proliferation is optimally conducted, it always benefits consumers. The second and third essays focus on vertical contracts between successive stages of production. The second essay places the controversial agency model involved in the e-book case in the context of antitrust treatment to vertical restraints, and examines its effects on competition and welfare relative to the wholesale model. The third essay goes beyond and develops a framework allowing us to clarify the ceteris paribus effects of changing each of the two key elements written in a vertical contract: decision roles and forms of the transfer payment. Based on this framework, we show that it is meaningful to distinguish between classic RRM, by which a manufacturer sets the transfer payment as well as the retail price, and agency RPM, by which a retailer is able to set the transfer payment before a manufacturer set the retail price. The final essay focuses on horizontal cartel agreements and experimentally investigates the effects of endogenous enforcement on cartel prices. We highlight the strategic uncertainty in cartel coordination as a channel of composition deterrence, as well as the potential trade-off between frequency and composition deterrence.

In four empirical chapters, matching analysis is employed to estimate the effects of specific contractual and regulatory arrangements on particular deal outcomes in the UK takeover market. The first chapter highlights the positive effect of earnout financing on the acquiring firms' returns in private target acquisitions. Furthermore, this chapter offers a detailed example of how the non-parametric Propensity Score Matching, despite its growing popularity in financial research, can lead to inaccurate inferences when relevant private-target-specific factors are omitted from the analysis. The second chapter provides the first empirical examination of the effect of the earnout's terms on the premium offered to the target firm's shareholders, and how information asymmetry concerns influence this premium. Additionally, the findings indicate that increases in the premia are negatively interpreted by the market in non-earnout financed deals. However, this negative effect is neutralised in comparable earnout financed deals. The third chapter provides the first empirical contribution that highlights the deal- and firm-related factors that contribute to the growing reliance on the Scheme of Arrangement, as a substitute for the Contractual Offer, in conducting UK public target deals. Despite the concerns raised in the legal literature about the limited bargaining power of the target shareholders under the Scheme, the robust conclusions indicate that such shareholders manage to receive premia that are at least as high as the premia received by shareholders in comparable Offer deals. The fourth chapter employs a hand-collected dataset that covers the incidences of termination fee use in the UK takeover market. The main result is that, in the period preceding the ban that The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers had imposed on termination fees, the inclusion of these fees had a beneficial, or at worst neutral, effect on target shareholders' wealth. Consequently, it is recommended that the Panel ends its ban.