Overview
Aims and objectives
Since the mid-1980s, the world-wide growth of foreign direct investment (FDI) has outstripped that of GNPs and investment. The UK is one of the major recipients of FDI. Whether FDI improves the competitive advantage of host countries depends on specific conditions. This project examined one of these, the extent to which FDI in the UK via foreign TNCs is an effective channel for improving British management. Initially a sample of alliances, including acquisitions, based in the UK between British companies and American, German and Japanese partners were investigated. This was expanded to include UK/French alliances. A comprehensive database of American, German, Japanese, French-owned firms operating in the UK and acquired during the period 1985-1994 was created. This set of countries covers the largest sources of direct investment into the UK in recent years. This database was used to conduct a full-scale survey of UK firms acquired by UK, Japanese, French and German companies. The study has shown amongst other things that the process of being acquired and controlled by a foreign parent company leads to significant changes in management practice, but also that some changes were common to all acquisitions including those by UK companies.
Dates of survey: The survey was carried out from June 1995 to November 1996.
Number of responses: The dataset consists of replies from 201 respondents.
Dataset: Research Management Practice of Foreign Ownership Firms Dataset, 1985-1994 (SN4506)
Principal investigators
- John Child
- David Faulkner
- Robert Pitkethly
Output
Child, J., Faulkner, D., Pitkethly, R. (2001) The Management of International Acquisitions, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Pitkethly, R., Faulkner, D. and Child, J. (2000) ‘National Differences in Acquisition Integration’ in Cooperative Strategies: Economic, Business and Organizational Issues, David Faulkner and Mark de Rond (Eds.), Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Child, J., Faulkner, D., Pitkethly, R. (Forthcoming 2002) ‘Integrating Acquisitions’ in Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions, Elsevier / JAI Series, Cooper, C., & Gregory, A. (Eds), Vol.2.
Child, J., Faulkner, D., Pitkethly, R. (Forthcoming 2002) ‘Organisational change processes in international acquisitions’ in Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions, Elsevier / JAI Series, Cooper, C., & Gregory, A. (Eds), Vol.2.
Faulkner, D., Pitkethly, R. and Child, J (2002) ‘International mergers and acquisitions in the UK 1985-1984: A Comparison of National Human Relations Practices’ International Journal of Human Resource Management., 13 (1): 106-122.
Child J., Pitkethly R. and Faulkner D. (1999) ‘Changes in management practice and the post-acquisition performance achieved by direct investors in the U.K.’, British Journal of Management., 10(3): 185-198.
Child J., Faulkner D. and Pitkethly R. (2000) ‘Foreign direct investment in the UK 1985-1994: the impact on domestic management practice’, Journal of Management Studies., 37(1): 141-166.
Child, J., Faulkner, D. and Pitkethly, R. (1997) Foreign direct investment in the UK, 1985-1994: the impact on domestic management practice. ESRC Centre for Business Research, Cambridge University, Working Paper No.77.
Child, J., Faulkner, D. and Pitkethly, R. (1997) Foreign direct investment in the UK, 1985-1994: the impact on domestic management practice. Judge Institute of Management Studies, Cambridge University, Research Paper No.31.
Other survey findings
The CBR has produced a number of surveys on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.