The role of HR in cross-border mergers and acquisitions:the case of Indian pharmaceutical firms

Mergers and acquisitions (M&) are increasingly becoming a strategy of choice for companies attempting to achieve and sustain competitive advantage. However, not all M&As are a success. In this paper, we examine the three main reasons highlighted in the literature as major causes of M&A failure (clashing corporate cultures, absence of clear communication, and employee involvement) in three Indian pharmaceutical companies, and we analyze the role played by the HR function in addressing them. Also, we discuss the importance of gaining the commitment and focus of the workforce during the acquisition process through employee involvement.

Re-examining the BMW-Rover affair:a case study of corporate, strategic and government failure?

This paper analyses corporate and government strategies during the purchase, period of control and divestment by BMW of the car manufacturer Rover over the period 1994 to 2000. This paper examines three types of ‘failure’. It views BMW’s purchase of Rover as a ‘corporate failure’, with British Aerospace keen to sell Rover to raise cash and with BMW not realising the real condition of Rover. It then moves on to examine BMW’s ‘divide and rule’ strategies with regard to working conditions and subsidy-seeking and its decision to sell Rover as an example of ‘strategic failure’. Finally, it considers the ‘hands-off’ nature of British policy towards such transnational firms, and BMW in particular, as an example of ‘government failure’. This paper concludes by raising the possibility of an EU-wide policy towards transnationals, especially in terms of monitoring the activities of such firms.

Innovation and the survival of new firms across British regions

This paper analyses the survival of the complete cohort of more than 162,000 limited companies incorporated in Britain in 2001 over the subsequent five-year period. For this purpose, we estimate firms' hazards of failure and survival functions using nonparametric and semi-parametric techniques. The paper focuses on two important policy-related issues.The first is to what extent survival rates vary across regions in Britain. A second, and related, policy issue concerns innovation. The data available allows us to look at the intellectual property (IP) activity of all British firms, including that of the 162,000 new firms in 2001. The results indicate substantial differences in survival rates across regions, and also that IP activity is associated with a higher probability of survival. These differences across regions, and the importance of IP activity, remain when we condition on a large range of regional, industry and firm-level characteristics shifting firms' hazards of failure.

Performance measurement with multiple interrelated variables and threshold target levels:evidence from retail firms in the US

In this study, we developed a DEA-based performance measurement methodology that is consistent with performance assessment frameworks such as the Balanced Scorecard. The methodology developed in this paper takes into account the direct or inverse relationships that may exist among the dimensions of performance to construct appropriate production frontiers. The production frontiers we obtained are deemed appropriate as they consist solely of firms with desirable levels for all dimensions of performance. These levels should be at least equal to the critical values set by decision makers. The properties and advantages of our methodology against competing methodologies are presented through an application to a real-world case study from retail firms operating in the US. A comparative analysis between the new methodology and existing methodologies explains the failure of the existing approaches to define appropriate production frontiers when directly or inversely related dimensions of performance are present and to express the interrelationships between the dimensions of performance.