In this thesis, I examine whether specific variables that have been directly identified as factors that have a bearing on asset pricing constitute significant determinants of short and long ran gains to acquisitions. Existing literature, starting from Miller (1977), explicitly associates these factors, namely the degree of short selling constraints and disagreement among investors, with overvaluation and asset pricing bubbles. Along these lines, I examine whether these also determine the degree of overpricing of acquiring firms prior to acquisitions and thus their subsequent performance around the acquisition announcement and in the post-acquisition period. In this investigation I control for a number of distinctive characteristics and performance determinants identified in the literature related to gains to acquiring firms. Results indicate that indeed binding short selling constraints and high divergence of opinion about the value of an acquirer leads to its stock being severely overpriced in the pre-acquisition period or around the announcement. This rationally leads to extensive underperformance in the post acquisition period. My evidence can help explain several anomalous stock return patterns related to acquisitions and suggest that the success of an acquisition in terms of creating value for shareholders can be to a large extent determined by the extent of disagreement between investors about the price of the acquiring firm's stock preceding the acquisition announcement.

This study investigates the management of cross border acquisitions (CBAs) and their performance. Specifically, the study examines the motives, the determinants of top management retention, the pre-acquisition management process, and the impact of post- acquisition management on cross border acquisition performance using data from a sample of CBAs made by UK firms.

This thesis is concerned with the impact of national and organisational cultures on the post-acquisition management process, as applied to the case of the automotive supplier industry. The search for literature on the impact of culture in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) indicated that despite a plethora of post-acquisition and cultural studies, knowledge on the interactions of national and organisational cultures and their impacts on post-acquisition performance was incomplete. The main conceptual framework developed was based on three distinct schools of thoughts, strategic management school, the process school and the organisational behavioural school. The researcher perceives national culture and organisational culture as a multi-dimensional construct that interacts between levels. Ultimately, in this study, the researcher implies that national culture and organisational culture are dynamic constructs in the post-acquisition management and success. The study consists of the case study approach which investigated one American MNE in the automotive supplier industry and its four acquisitions into Europe (Germany, France, and Sweden) during the 1990s. The data collection process was carried out between August 2001 and September 2002 and was divided in three phases: 1) desk research on the company; 2) 27 interviews and 75 returned questionnaires at the four acquired sites in Europe, and 3) 5 interviews and 41 returned questionnaires at the North American and European headquarters. The interviews involved senior managers and employees who were involved in the post-acquisition process. Analysis of the case studies through pattern-coding and triangulation of data methods showed how the differences and interactions of cultures between the acquirer and its acquired subsidiaries influenced: The acquirer's management technique (types, timing and communication of post-acquisition changes) which in turn influenced the - The acquired's employees behaviour; which in turn influenced the - Post-acquisition success in the acquired firm. In addition, the findings seem to suggest that the post-acquisition process consists of very distinguishable sub-phases and these have been identified and included into the main theoretical framework. By charting the sub-phases, it may be possible to anticipate certain behavioural patterns of employees and relevant management solutions for each. The multi-dimensional cultural interface developed from the literature has been supported by the findings of the research. It displayed the complex interactions of national culture and organisational culture on the post-acquisition process. The strength of the influences of the cultural dimensions on each post-acquisition phase is discussed as well as how to deal with them. This multi-dimensional cultural interface has contributed in bridging the gap in the literature that has usually focused on either national culture or organisational culture in M&A studies, but seldom both.

The surge in the cross-border acquisition of Korean businesses, following the 1997 Asian crisis, raises questions about the motivations of foreign investors, the calculations of selling firms, and outcomes. However, existing studies are limited in number and depth of analysis. Established FDI theory and the fire-sale/neoclassical debate do not consider how post-acquisition developments in strategy, resources, and capabilities within the target businesses and other relevant factors contributed to organisational improvements and enhanced financial performance. Recognising the methodological limitations of previous studies, this thesis employs a multiple case-study approach based on qualitative interviews and quantitative accounting data to deal with unanswered questions and to substantiate what is so often assumed. Contrary to perceptions in Korea, foreign acquirers were not motivated by financial opportunism and 'fire-sales'. Instead, with strategic motivations, they sought businesses with resources and capabilities that could make their objectives achievable, and they invested in and developed new resources and capabilities. For chaebols, government pressure to reform and lack of liquidity were motivators, but we cannot overlook their agency and success in achieving their own strategic intentions, necessitating asset sales. Nor should we overlook the contribution of managers to post-acquisition improvements. These successes, measured by financial performance, depended on the effective managerial, organisational, and operational transformation of the acquired finn, and external factors, such as host market competitive pressures and expansion opportunities. Transformation rested on the quality of 'transition management', whose nature and outcomes were affected by the interaction of si-x factors, including: (a) the quality of the acquirer'S resources and capabilities in relation to the target business; (b) the acquirer's motivations and strategy; (c) the quality and potential of the target firm's resources and capabilities; (d) external factors, such as host market competitive pressures, expansion opportunities, and macroeconomic conditions; ( e) the acquirer's international acquisition expertise and integration strategy; and (f) the level of the local employees' agency. Financial outcomes varied, due to explicable internal and external factors, but case evidence indicates that the acquisition brought substantial financial benefits to many target firms. This thesis, therefore, questions the unsubstantiated, widely-held view that the impact of the mergers and acquisitions wave in Korea after 1997 has been consistently negative for the target firms.

For the duration of the past three decades a growing number of research has proved that business environments are evolving at an accelerated rate that require new organisational forms. strategies and processes. In other words, in a hyper-competitive environment with increasing globalisation, it is hard for a single company to possess all resources needed to develop and sustain current competitive advantages whilst trying simultaneously to build a new one. Clearly, in order to gain and sustain competitive advantage in such turbulent environment, organisations need to combine or co-operate with one another organisations. This could explain the popularity of merger/acquisition strategies in the last two decades. However, the results of these strategies were disappointed because merger/acquisition strategies did not achieve the financial objective of the combinations. Number of reasons attributed to such failure, such as the price of the deal is too high, the time of the deal is inappropriate etc. However, by delving deeper into both human and organisational sides of the deal would enable us to realise the essence of merger/acquisition failures or successes: The human resource and cultural factors in addition to the way such issues are managed. Yet, these essential factors often neglected during merger process as soft issues. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of human resource and cultural factors in the success or failure of merger/acquisition strategies and how these factor would enable companies to gain and sustain their competitive advantage. The influence of external factors on mergers/acquisitions also investigated. To achieve these aims, this study designed to involve two groups (merging and non-merging companies) and two different sample units for each group (top and middle management). The results signify that human resource and culture factors are critical for the success of mergers/acquisitions. In other words, this study gave evidence that understanding, analysing and managing the redundancies, cultures clash, uncertainty, stress and low morale that often associate with such strategies through effective communication, coping programmes and procedural justice would increase the possibility of success, yet neglecting such essential factors would prove the failure of these strategies. Internal factors were proved in this study to be unique success factors in the context of mergers/acquisition, but external factors were proved to be important for both merging and non-merging companies.

No description available.

This study has examined the relevance of internal communication in contexts of organisational integration ('merger communication'). Today, mergers and acquisitions represent a key means of growth. The fundamental impacts of mergers on the people within the affected organisations are, however, frequently underestimated. Many difficulties experienced in mergers appear to be the result of misguided communication founded on a lack of understanding of the underlying communication processes. Previous research and practice on merger communication may have relied too heavily on transmission-oriented approaches which insufficiently address the complexities of merger scenarios. The present study adopts the philosophical commitments associated with 'critical theory' and 'critical realism'. In methodological terms, a qualitative, interpretive approach was used for the research. The data analysis was split into two parts: the first part involved data collection and analysis using grounded theory. As a result a new theory of merger communication was induced. Primary data was obtained by interviewing 32 subjects who were involved or affected by merger integration. Subjects questioned had differing backgrounds, occupied various positions and gained experience in different organisations. The second part of the research involved a broadly-based literature review which, detached from grounded theory principles, served to corroborate the findings from the primary data analysis. The study found that merger communication involves reciprocal interaction processes. During these processes, fields of joint and socially constructed views are produced. Overall, the study advances communication theory which has been empirically tested in merger settings, i.e. there was an examination of the interplay between communication and organisational integration. As a result the field of cultural communication, a route within communication theory, has been furnished with an explanatory approach which extends current understanding of shared meaning relationships. The mergers and acquisitions theory on the other hand is confronted with the finding that an instrumental approach to communication is of limited use only. While a few academics in the area of mergers and acquisitions have regarded merger communication as involving the sharing of meanings none have developed this idea any further with an overarching model.

In recent years, the motives for mergers have increasingly changed from cost-driven mergers to market-driven mergers, which intend to improve the market position, to enlarge the product portfolio or to get access to new markets. Therefore, integrating the marketing and sales (M&S) area plays a significant role to achieve the merger goals. M&S is the only business area with direct interface to customers. As a result, post-merger integration (PMI) activities in M&S have direct impact on customer relationships. However, various empirical studies reveal that companies have real problems to realise the expected benefits. To find an answer to this phenomenon, the author investigates possible reasons and identifies the neglect of the PMI phase and the missing expertise how to merge M&S as the major bottlenecks.

No description available.

Σκοπός της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι να αναλύσει τον τρόπο με τον οποίο η θεωρία παιγνίων συνεισφέρει στην λήψη αποφάσεων σε διαπραγματεύσεις. Στα πρώτα κεφάλαια της παρούσας εργασίας αναλύονται οι εισαγωγικές έννοιες της θεωρίας παιγνίων. Εκτός από της εισαγωγικές έννοιες αναφέρονται οι κατηγορίες των παιγνίων και γίνεται μια προσπάθεια ταξινόμησής τους βάσει κάποιων συγκεκριμένων χαρακτηριστικών. Στη συνέχεια αναφερόμαστε στις διαπραγματεύσεις ως μια πιο εξειδικευμένη μορφή θεωρίας παιγνίων. Έπειτα παραθέτουμε ορισμένα μοντέλα της θεωρίας των διαπραγματεύσεων και τέλος με τη χρήση των μοντέλων αυτών αναφερόμαστε σε πραγματικές περιπτώσεις διαπραγματεύσεων σε συγχωνεύσεις κι εξαγορές εταιρειών. / The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how which game theory contribute to decision making negotiations. The first chapters of this study analyzed the introductory concepts of game theory. Apart from the introductory concepts mentioned categories of games and is an attempt classification on the basis of some specific characteristics. at Then refer to the negotiations as a more specialized form of game theory. Then we present some models of Theory of negotiations and end the use of these models refer to real situations in negotiations mergers and acquisitions.