Investigating the Integration of Acquired Firms in High-technology Industries: Implications for Industrial Policy

Acquisition activity persists despite evidence that acquisitions do not improve firm performance. Further, government policy toward the defense industry has advocated consolidation in the name of nominal cost savings. We explore the role acquisitions play toward technology transfer and begin to identify factors associated with acquisition success through a review of existing research on post-acquisition performance that primarily considers acquiring firm stock performance. Using this research as a foundation, we build a model to analyze post-acquisition performance using a sample of high-technology firms. Results suggest critical success factors associated with post-acquistion stock performance are poorly understood. We conclude that proactive government policy toward high-technology industry mergers and acquisitions may be misguided due to difficulty in predicting acquisition outcome

Uncertainty for uncertain decision makers

First Chapter - While mainstream decision theory only allows for variations in the severity of uncertainty, the plurality of labels with which uncertainty has been referred to in the literature and the variety of doubts that decision makers can have seem to suggest that there are different types of uncertainty. Given the importance that uncertainty has in almost any decision, understanding this plurality can be helpful to decide effectively. I propose an account of uncertainty as based on a disagreement between reasons supporting alternative mental attitudes. Under this account, dealing with uncertainty means dealing with disagreement; however, this disagreement can be radical, i.e. persistent under ideal cognitive and epistemic conditions. When this is the case, the disagreement and therefore the uncertainty cannot be resolved with an increase in evidence. I draw a typology of uncertainty reflecting the conditions that must obtain for the possibility of radical disagreement, and I trace the role that each of the types identified plays in decision making.Second Chapter - Decision theories have largely ignored the step of decision making in which the agent models the situation. Given that a decision can be represented with different models, and that these can lead to different recommendations, then without a principled way to assess them the agent’s choice is under-determined. As models require the agent to select the aspects that matter to the decision, an account of rational decision modelling must include a notion of relevance. I propose that the most rational model is the one taking into account all and only the considerations relevant for the decision. I define relevance for a decision as a matter of providing reasons for some option, and I identify four functional types of reasons leading to four corresponding types of relevance. I focus on what I call “constitutive relevance”, which provides the content of the decision model, and propose a formal definition of this concept.Third Chapter - The increasing success of the evidence-based policy movement is raising the demand for empirically informed decision making. As arguably any policy decision happens under conditions of uncertainty, following our best available evidence to reduce the uncertainty seems a requirement of good decision making. However, not all the uncertainty faced by decision makers can be resolved by evidence. In this paper, we build on a philosophical analysis of uncertainty to identify the boundaries of scientific advice in policy decision making. We argue that the authority of scientific advisors is limited to cognitive uncertainty and cannot extend beyond it. While the appeal of evidence-based policy rests on a view of scientific advice as limited to cognitive uncertainty, in practice there is a risk of over-reliance on experts beyond the legitimate scope of their authority. We conclude by applying our framework to a real-world case of evidence based policy, where experts have overstepped their boundaries by ignoring non-cognitive types of uncertainty.Fourth Chapter - The COVID-19 pandemic has presented the world with a series of new challenges, but the policy response may be difficult due to the severe uncertainty of our circumstances. While pressure to take timely action may push towards less inclusive decision procedures, in this paper I argue that precisely this uncertainty provides both democratic and epistemic reasons to include stakeholders in our collective decision making

Chesterfield College (FEFC inspection report; 80/95 and 93/00)

Comprises two Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) inspection reports for the periods 1994-95 (80/95), and 1999-2000 (93/00). The FEFC has a legal duty to make sure further education in England is properly assessed. Inspections and reports on each college of further education are conducted according to a four-year cycle. Chesterfield College is a large general further education college located on two sites in Chesterfield

Understanding sustainability through the lens of ecocentric radical-re?exivity : implications for management education

This paper seeks to contribute to the debate around sustainability by proposing the need for an ecocentric stance to sustainability that reflexively embeds humans in—rather than detached from—nature. We argue that this requires a different way of thinking about our relationship with our world, necessitating a (re)engagement with the sociomaterial world in which we live. We develop the notion of ecocentrism by drawing on insights from sociomateriality studies, and show how radical-reflexivity enables us to appreciate our embeddedness and responsibility for sustainability by bringing attention to the interrelationship between values, actions and our social and material world. We examine the implications of an ecocentric radically reflexive approach to sustainability for management education

Philosophical Perspectives on Earth System Modeling: Truth, Adequacy, and Understanding

We explore three questions about Earth system modeling that are of both scientific and philosophical interest: What kind of understanding can be gained via complex Earth system models? How can the limits of understanding be bypassed or managed? How should the task of evaluating Earth system models be conceptualized

Wireless Play and Unexpected Innovation

Part of the Volume on Digital Young, Innovation, and the Unexpected. This chapter considers play as leading to unexpected innovation in advanced wireless technologies. It concludes that much of the potential for new media to enhance innovation actually echoes much older patterns, as evidenced by comparisons to wireless history. These are patterns of privilege, particularly class and gender privilege, reinforced by strict intellectual property protections. Detailed case studies are presented of the "wardrivers," young male computer enthusiasts who helped map wi-fi signals over the past decade, and of earlier analog wireless enthusiasts. The chapter offers a solid critique of many present-day celebrations of technology-driven innovation and of the rhetoric of participatory culture