Deregulation and R&D in Network Industries: The Case of the Electricity Industry

Electricity reform has coincided with a significant decline in energy R&D activities. Technical progress is crucial for tackling many energy and environmental issues as well as for long-term efficiency improvement. This paper reviews the industrial organisation literature on innovation to explore the causes of this decline, and shows that it was predicted by the pre-reform literature. More recent evidence endorses this conclusion. At the same time, R&D productivity and innovative output appear to have improved in both electric utilities and equipment suppliers, in line with general improvements in the operating efficiency of the sector. Despite this, a lasting decline in basic R&D and innovation input into basic research may negatively affect development of radical technological innovation in the long run. There is a need for reorientation of energy technology policies and spending toward more basic research, engaging more firms in R&D, encouraging collaborative research, and exploring public private partnerships

Mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances as collaborative methods of strategic development and change

This overview article briefly discusses the importance and implications of collaborative methods of development. It provides an overview of the various alternative collaborative methods available and highlights the main critical success factors associated with the management of the strategic change processes which these often are. While providing an overview of each paper, this article highlights the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach and highlights the interconnectedness between a variety of factors and their performance implications. To conclude, avenues for further research are suggested to further strengthen the view of a more pluralistic, multi-disciplinary, multi-phasic, and interconnected approach to external collaborative methods of development.authorsversionpublishe

Mergers & Acquisitions research: A bibliometric study of top strategy journals, 2000 - 2009

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are important modes through which firms undertake their domestic and international strategies. This bibliometric review examines the extant research on M&As in the top five strategic management journals during a ten years period ? from 2000 to 2009. The 90 articles identified in these top journals denote an eclectic theoretical focus with the prevalence of four theories ? resource-based view, transaction costs, agency theory and institutional theory. We present a brief analysis of the key issues in M&A research, as well as the samples and theories more commonly used. We conclude by presenting a broad discussion comprising the methods used, the research questions investigated, the type of articles, as well as limitations and avenues for future enquiry.mergers & acquisitions; strategic management journals, bibliometric study

Propositions and future directions of marketers’ relationship effectiveness in mergers and acquisitions integration

Research on marketing integration related to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has paid little attention to the combination of similar resources between two similar departments, particularly in the M&A context. Furthermore, existing research does not clearly demonstrate the role of relationship among marketers within the amalgamation process between acquirer and target firm.Hence, this paper addresses a few propositions that relate to strengthening the relationship effectiveness among the marketers in both firms, which at the same time uphold the M&A performance. Collaboration and interaction are proposed as drivers to increase optimistic relationship among the marketers.A quantitative research design is suggested as this method is not popular compared to qualitative methods such as case study, event-study and longitudinal approach in M&A.Drawing from the extant literature, propositions are developed and future directions are presented elaborating success factors to improve M&A integration performance

Mergers and Acquisitions: revisiting the human factor in the light of a knowledge-based view of the firm and complexity theory

An ongoing argument in the MetA literature is that the human factor has an important impact on the outcome of those operations. Analysis of the HR integration has identified human factors that play an inhibiting role on post-acquisition performance, particularly cultural and organisational mismatch, resistance to change and poor level of strategic integration planning. Yet, less is known about the role of the human factor in the organisational dynamics, which is at work when merging two autonomous entities, and the related impact on performance. The aim of the paper is to study ways of exploring the relationship between the human factor and post-acquisition performance, in discussing possible contributions from a knowledge-based view of the firm (KBV) and complexity theory.

Firm specialisation and growth. A study of the european software industry.

This paper analyses the process of growth and restructuring of 38 large European and US software firms during the period 1984-1992. Since the end of the 1960s, an independent software industry has emerged in the US and in Europe stimulated by technological and institutional change. Particularly, the diffusion of small computers and local area networks during the 1980s is largely responsible for the high growth rate of software market compared with other information technology segments. Moreover, software is a pervasive technology in that it tends to be used in all economic sectors. This has spurred the entry of many new firms and vertical disintegration of software activities from computer hardware manufacturing. In the 1980s a wave of M&As, joint ventures and corporate restructuring (new subsidiaries, reorganisations of divisions, etc.) took place in this industry. This paper aims to analyse the objectives of these operations (exploitation of new market opportunities or new joint research opportunities) and their directions (diversification or specialisation).

Value creation and the challenge of joining forces: Evidence from open innovation and mergers and acquisitions

Value creation is pivotal for organizational survival, growth, and competitiveness. The topichas attracted a growing interest from scholars looking for new ways to analyze how firmscreate value for themselves and their stakeholders. The means of value creation involve awide array of strategies, tools, and forms of interaction. Focusing on the challenges of joiningforces, this thesis explores two commonly used practices in collaboration with others to createvalue: mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and open innovation (OI). Both practices are highlycomplex. Despite the common use, they often fail to deliver the intended outcome, forexample, in terms of synergies, complementarities, and increased efficiency.This thesis consists of two empirical papers and an introductory chapter. The themesdiscussed in each of the enclosed papers investigates value creation and the challenges ofjoining forces with other organizations. Paper 1 introduces a novel business model lens tostudy post-merger integration in M&As. This study combines firm-level case study research(in the European material handling industry) on business models and M&A to explore howdifferences in business models affect value creation and synergy realization during postmergerintegration. The case evidence suggests that business model congruence – the fitbetween merging business models, achieved through the careful stitching of business modelcomponents into a value-creating system – is a critical factor impacting post-mergerintegration. Paper 2 focuses on OI and explores the challenges to successful value creation inpartnerships between large and small firms. Based on field studies and interview data, Iuncover distinct challenges that large and small firms experience and what tactics can be usedto address such challenges.This thesis contributes to the understanding of what impacts value creation whenorganizations join forces through M&A and OI. Emphasizing two common collaborativestrategies with a novel theoretical approach allowed me to investigate the mechanisms forvalue creation at a more granular level than previously examined. The combined theme of thethesis adds to M&A, OI and strategic management literature by providing relevant insights onthe impact of interorganizational relations and organizational differences on collaborativestrategies.By integrating business models into the M&A literature, I expand the concept of strategic fit,offering an opportunity to rethink how synergies are created. My approach of focusing on OIpartnerships between large and small firms contributes to the understanding of how value iscreated in a collaborative context by identifying how large and small firms engage incollaboration with very different perspectives and capabilities. Factors that, if not mitigated,hamper the relationship and intended value creation, respectively. Having identified theserelational challenges, I present remedies that seek to establish mutual trust from the start of thepartnership. By contributing to a new understanding of common strategies for creating value incollaboration with others, I derive implications for strategic similarity, synergy realization, andOI

VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL COORDINATION IN THE AGRO-BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY: EVIDENCE AND IMPLICATIONS

Agro-biotechnology is evolving from a pre-commercial phase dominated by basic research science to a commercial phase oriented around marketing products. In pursuing innovation rents in the commercial phase, firms are reorienting their strategies around complementary marketing and distribution assets. This is impacting vertical and horizontal industry structure. Conversely, industry structure is also impacting firm strategies. Horizontal alliances and consolidation continue from the pre-commercial phase into the commercial phase, while vertical coordination and integration strategies are accelerating rapidly. Interplay between firm strategy and industry structure is too complex for firms to anticipate early in the pre-commercial phase for long-term strategy formulation.Acquisitions, Agricultural biotechnology, Firm strategy, Industry consolidation, Industry structure, Mergers, Industrial Organization, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Human side of collaborative partnerships: a micro-foundational perspective

The research on collaborative partnerships has accumulated a vast body of knowledge, which has assisted us with comprehending several complex organizational phenomena, including mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, joint ventures, and entrepreneurial partnerships. Yet, the existing studies have not paid sufficient attention to the human side factors. We join the current conversation within the micro-foundations perspective of management and organization studies by suggesting that investigating the human side factors as the micro-foundations of collaborative partnerships can advance our collective understanding of the phenomena in important ways. This article has three general objectives. First, we show that collaborative partnerships have been a long-standing issue in management and organization studies and provide an overview of the puzzles that informed and motivated this special issue. Second, we highlight the key insights and contributions of the papers included in this special issue by reviewing their theoretical underpinnings, methodological approaches and findings. Finally, we outline a future research agenda on the human side of collaborative partnerships that can help advance management and organization studies