A new research agenda for managing socio-cultural integration

Post-acquisition socio-cultural integration has received increasing attention from both scholars and practitioners since the early 1990s. During the past decade, research has increasingly focused on emotions and identity in mergers and acquisitions. This chapter introduces the reader to the vibrant research field and its relevance. This section sets the scene for the book, which provides a deeper understanding of how emotions—both positive and negative—as well as values and identity enable a deeper socio-cultural integration after a merger or acquisition, and how leadership plays a crucial role in making it all happen. This chapter also highlights how the Nordic approach to post-acquisition socio-cultural integration refers to a large community of Nordic academics focusing on the softer social and human side of acquisition, often relying on a huge variety of qualitative methods, and to Nordic companies that are not afraid of adopting a more collaborative approach to post-acquisition integration

Integrating qualitative and quantitative methods in research on international entrepreneurship

Using mixed methods is an often proposed but rarely used research design. In this paper, I describe a mixed method approach to research on international entrepreneurship. Using a mixed methods design with a case study and a mail survey, I show how the two methods make it possible to reach a better understanding of the antecedents of organizational memory and how organizational memory affects perceived costs of further international expansion of Swedish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). I also propose research designs for studying both novel phenomena and for developing established theory through a combination of case studies and structural equation modeling. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2006Mixed methods, Case studies, Structural equation modeling, International expansion, Organizational memory, International experience,

The effects of risk and time on entrepreneurship

The paper deals with the socioeconomic background of entrepreneurship. It is especially concerned with the actual relationship between entrepreneurship and risk and time perception (time preferences). It can be predicted that in societies characterized by risk aversion and a preference for short-term risk seeking, there will be optimum conditions for the development of entrepreneurship. The converse is true of societies characterized by short-run risk-averse behaviour or long-term risk seeking. Proxies are proposed for risk and time preference in OECD economies, and tests are developed. Empirical investigation verifies theoretical predictions. It is established that over the period examined (2000-2004), the economies in question have shifted to a non entrepreneurial territory where risk and time are combined. This change is capable of producing conditions which favour entrepreneurial development. © 2007 Springer Science + Business Media, LLC

The resource dynamics of international new venture networks

Building on network theory and the resource-based view of the firm, this paper uses three case studies to explore how networks facilitate resource development in the international new venture. Set in the context of the conception, commercialization and growth stages of venture development, four propositions are advanced. These pertain to the dynamics of organizational, human, physical, financial and social capital, and the nature of these resource flows as they pertain to the INV network. Implications for research and INV management are discussed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2006International new venture, INV, Resource-based view, RBV, Network, Dynamic,