Planning as an integrative device

Middle managers’ shared understanding of organizational priorities is a key determinant of successful goal implementation. In this paper, we analyze whether involving middle managers in the strategic planning process and communicating the agreed-upon goals to them afterwards reduce the bias of their managerial role and thus increase the convergence on their assessments of operational priorities. In a sample of 164 manufacturing plants from five different countries and three industries, in which we asked three middle managers about the organizational priorities, we find that the managerial position bias is strong and that communication but not involvement reduces it.Strategic planning; integration; organizational priorities; middle-management; role bias; managerial position; involvement; communication; MTMM analysis; manufacturing

Country Institutional Differences and Multinational Advantage in Banking

In this paper, we seek to answer the following questions : "Do country-level institutional differences affect benefits of multinationality? If so, how?" Focusing on resource and knowledge transfers as the key source of multinational advantage, we argue that the degree to which multinationals can benefit from such transfers depends on the extent to which knowledge or other resources are applicable across units. We further argue that the greater the institutional similarity across differrent countries in which the MNE is present, the greater the applicability and transferability of resources across its units. Hence, we claim that the greater the institutional similarity, the greater the firm performance and, further, the greater the effect of multinationality on performance. We test these arguments in a sample of 85 multinational banks using data from 2001-2002. We find that (1) institutional similarity significantly improves MNE performance, (2) multinationality does not have an independent effect on performance, and (3), contrary to our expectation, the positive effect of institutional similarity actually decrease with increasing levels of multinationality.country institution; multinational bank; banking

A resource need and availability view of the make or ally choice: evidence from the worldwide aircraft industry 1945-2000

This paper investigates why firms choose to undertake product expansion through alliances with competitors rather than on their own.alliance; governance; resource; competence; expansion; growth

The need for scale as a driver of alliance formation : choosing between collaborative and autonomous production

In this paper, the authors reconsider why firms choose to form horizontal alliances when launching a new product rather to undertake such a project on their own.alliance formation; autonomous production; collaborative production

Do scale alliances with competitors improve product performace? A study of the Aircraft industry, 1949-2000

This paper investigates the performance impact of undertaking activities through scale alliances with competitors rather than undertaking these activities autonomously.strategy; governance; alliance; cooperation; performance; scale economies; aircraft

To integrate or not to integrate ? complementarity, similarity, and acquisition value creation

In this paper, the authors explain that relatedness is often associated with acquisition value creation without distinguishing between three underlying sources of synergy: business similarity, product complementarity and geographic complementarity. The authors argue that realizing value in acquisitions requires maching the type of relatedness with the appropriate degree of integration; specifically high integration for business similarity, medium integration for product complementarity and low integration for geographic complementarity. Empirical validation, broadly supporting their hypotheses comes from 88 M&Asmergers and acquisitions; value creation; integration

To acquire or not to acquire? Duration of due diligence in technology acquisitions

Based on information economics and organizational learning literatures, we investigate how information asymmetry and uncertainty regarding the value of technological resources of target firms influence the due diligence process after an acquisition announcement is made by the acquirer. We study how information asymmetry between the acquirer and target firm captured by the technological distance between the two firms’ patent portfolio extends the due diligence process. Additionally, we study how uncertainty about target firms’ technological resources explained by the pending patent applications of target firms tends to prolong the duration of due diligence. Further, we argue that business similarity reduces information asymmetry between the acquirer and target firm and shortens the duration of due diligence. We test the predictions on a sample of acquisitions of privately held technology firms in the UK and find a significantly positive effect of targets’ pending patent applications on due diligence duration that is amplified by technological distance but reduced by business similarity. The findings of the study contribute to the M&A literature that higher information asymmetry and uncertainty lengthen the due diligence process of the acquirers when evaluating prospective target firms