Thomas Straub, Stefano Borzillo and Gilbert Probst
This chapter develops a decision-making framework to analyze important dimensions of mergers and acquisitions. Using a PLS approach, we show that strategic deals’ performance �…
Abstract
This chapter develops a decision-making framework to analyze important dimensions of mergers and acquisitions. Using a PLS approach, we show that strategic deals’ performance – measured by means of synergy realization, relative performance (compared to the competition), and absolute performance – is determined by three dimensions: strategic logic, organizational behavior, as well as finance. We find that the following significant variables, which stem from each of these dimensions, should be taken into account to ensure a successful deal: market similarities, market complementarities, operational similarities, operational complementarities, market power, purchasing power, acquisition experience, relative size, and due diligence.
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This article discusses issues common to the pricing of both insurance and finance. These include increasing collaboration between insurance companies and banks, deregulation of…
Abstract
This article discusses issues common to the pricing of both insurance and finance. These include increasing collaboration between insurance companies and banks, deregulation of various insurance and finance markets, integrated risk management, and the emergence of financial engineering as a new profession. Rather than attempting to give an exhaustive exposition of the issues at hand, the author highlights developments that, from a methodological point of view, offer new insight into the comparison of pricing mechanisms between insurance and finance.
H.J. Warnecke, R.‐D. Schraft, M. Schweizer and G. Wurtz
A German research team has developed a robotic tool that enables the ‘interference fit’ fastening process to be automated. The problems of high forces and positioning an…
Abstract
A German research team has developed a robotic tool that enables the ‘interference fit’ fastening process to be automated. The problems of high forces and positioning an ‘oversize’ component have been overcome.
Miret Padovani and Paolo Vanini
The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of intergenerational and international sharing of longevity and growth risks. Current research on worldwide demographic changes…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of intergenerational and international sharing of longevity and growth risks. Current research on worldwide demographic changes highlights the importance of longevity risk on financial markets and the need to devise optimal hedging vehicles.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a potential financial innovation between two countries at different stages of economic development and with different long‐term challenges. This 30‐year‐long swap is structured in such a way to capture the different timing of needed funds of the two countries and the funding capabilities of each generation: the more developed economy requires funds in the future to cover expenses for its ageing population, while the developing economy needs funds today to pay for educational, technological, and other infrastructural services. To price the swap, the paper applies an exponential‐utility‐based pricing method and defines an interval of prices allowing a contract to be agreed upon.
Findings
Via the exponential‐utility‐based pricing method, the paper shows how the bid‐ask spread varies with respect to the governments' risk and time preferences.
Originality/value
The paper is believed to be the first to illustrate the structuring and pricing of a long‐term longevity swap between two countries at different stages of economic development and to discuss practical challenges derivative structures would face if they were to implement such a strategy.
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This study investigates the way in which acquisition-related human factors affect knowledge transfer in the context of Chinese cross-border M&A for strategic assets. The authors…
Abstract
This study investigates the way in which acquisition-related human factors affect knowledge transfer in the context of Chinese cross-border M&A for strategic assets. The authors find that the process of knowledge transfer is reciprocal for revenue and cost synergies, including explicit and tacit knowledge. The establishment of joint ventures (JV) in China after the takeover boosts product-oriented knowledge transfer from overseas-acquired firms in mature markets to Chinese acquirers. The promotion of overseas synergies stimulates complementary knowledge transfer flow, which is reversely transferred from Chinese acquirers to overseas-acquired subsidiaries such as low-saving sourcing and new market applications. This study identifies three acquisition-related human factors that impact overseas knowledge senders for knowledge transfer. These human factors are implemented by Chinese strategic investors as new shareholders during the loosen integration phase. The first facilitator is all-round communication programs with top management involvement, aiming to build up constructive communication channels to boost knowledge transfer. The second facilitator is competence-based trust, which stimulates cooperation and application based on similar professional competence between Chinese acquirers and their overseas-acquired subsidiaries. The impeder is a high turnover of key skilled workers at Chinese acquirers to undermine the effectiveness of knowledge transfer.
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Luis Oliveira, Wensong Bai, Martin Johanson, Milena Ratajczak-Mrozek and Barbara Francioni
We investigate the role of market uncertainties as determinants of the adoption of control and prediction in the internationalization of small- and medium-sized enterprises…
Abstract
We investigate the role of market uncertainties as determinants of the adoption of control and prediction in the internationalization of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Building on the possibility that uncertain markets may lead to trade-offs between these strategies, as suggested by the convergence between effectuation and internationalization research, we differentiate between uncertainties originated in SMEs’ home and host countries. We test our hypotheses with a cross-country data set encompassing 597 SMEs surveyed in Brazil, China, Poland, and Italy. Our results indicate that home-country uncertainty is related to the adoption of control strategies, while host-country cultural uncertainty is related to prediction efforts. Moreover, internationalization knowledge emerged not as a moderator of these relationships but as a relevant antecedent of both control and prediction. Our findings have implications for the use of effectuation in the study of SME internationalization and also for the conceptualization of the effectuation process itself.
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Helmut M. Dietl, Anil Özdemir and Nicolas Schweizer
The purpose of this paper is to understand and explain why some professional sports organizations outsource their sponsorship-related activities to sports marketing agencies…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand and explain why some professional sports organizations outsource their sponsorship-related activities to sports marketing agencies, whereas others purposely retain these activities in-house.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies transaction cost economics (TCE) and the resource-based view (RBV) to outsourcing of sports sponsorship activities. It examines the extent determinants descending from these theories influence the sourcing choice of professional sports organizations.
Findings
This paper argues that determinants derived from TCE and the RBV are useful to understand the factors likely to influence an outsourcing decision and to analyze which sponsorship-related activities are more or less likely to be outsourced. However, these determinants are insufficient to shed light on why sports organizations arrive at different conclusions about their internal and external environments. With recourse to contingency theory, the authors propose two additional contingencies that affect the sourcing decision: a sport organization’s size and its degree of professionalism. This integrative conceptual framework improves the understanding of sports sponsorship outsourcing, makes several propositions, and paves the way for future empirical research in sports sponsorship.
Originality/value
This is the first paper to apply classical theoretical concepts to outsourcing sports sponsorship activities. As a conceptual paper, it hopes to stimulate further research on outsourcing in sports sponsorship and on the relationship between sports organizations and sports marketing agencies.
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The essay builds a timeline of the friendship and intellectual intercourse between Sraffa and Wittgenstein with data from both their Cambridge Pocket Diaries (CPDs) and their…
Abstract
The essay builds a timeline of the friendship and intellectual intercourse between Sraffa and Wittgenstein with data from both their Cambridge Pocket Diaries (CPDs) and their correspondence and biography. The timeline distinguishes five phases: their first meetings until June 1930, the time in which their weekly conversations run uninterrupted (October 1930–June 1933); the period in which the enchantment of their previous meetings was broken (October 1933–July 1936); the following decade in which their meetings were in some years intense, in others nearly inexistent, until Sraffa decided to put an end to their conversations; and finally the years preceding Wittgenstein’s death. The meetings between Sraffa and Wittgenstein from their CPDs are listed in the Appendix.
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Angélick Schweizer, Sébastien Miserez, Maria del Rio Carral and Marie Santiago-Delefosse
This study aims to deepen the authors’ understanding of higher education students’ perceptions about sustainability issues by focusing on their motivations to adopt (or not to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to deepen the authors’ understanding of higher education students’ perceptions about sustainability issues by focusing on their motivations to adopt (or not to adopt) sustainable practices in their lives. It mobilized the notion of “health” and the potential impacts of climate change on health.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative and participatory action approach, involving students acting as researchers, was implemented. All psychology students (bachelor’s degree) were trained to conduct semi-directive interviews with students from other faculties on the issues of sustainability and health. In total, 203 interviews were completed within two academic years. The authors performed a lexicographic analysis followed by a thematic analysis.
Findings
Analyses showed that the concept of sustainability was unclear for most student interviewees (SIs) and that only a few of them were able to spontaneously connect it with health. Only after being guided throughout the interview did these SIs, mainly geoscience students, become progressively aware of the direct links between sustainability and health issues, such as personal health. The perceived risks of non-sustainable practices were higher when they directly affected the body itself, and this encouraged adoption of more sustainable practices.
Originality/value
This research enables the authors to identify specific interventions to decrease the gap between awareness of sustainability and sustainable practices. These interventions may be more effective if they aim to sensitize students to the direct impacts of non-sustainable practices on their personal health. This can be made possible by using creative learning activities that involve active participation of students.
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She-I Chang, I-Cheng Chang and Tawei Wang
– The main aim of this study is to perform a case study to understand the information systems (IS) integration strategy of two high-tech companies after merger and acquisition.
Abstract
Purpose
The main aim of this study is to perform a case study to understand the information systems (IS) integration strategy of two high-tech companies after merger and acquisition.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors perform a case study on the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of two high-tech companies to illustrate the IS integration activities in the M&A processes.
Findings
This study summarizes 26 fields from the IS integration process in the post-M&A period. These 26 fields highlight the challenges when standardizing the integrated system and the impacts on work routines as well as cultural resistance.
Originality/value
This study shows that the success of IS integration in the M&A context is determined by identifying critical functions and leveraging the pre-M&A know-hows of both companies. Furthermore, standardization may not be the first priority during the integration process. It is also beneficial to keep the uniqueness of the systems of both companies which reduces the concerns of potential resistance of the IT personnel. This study also has managerial implications. The findings suggest that identifying and prioritizing relevant fields in the context of a cross-business IS integration would improve the resource allocation decision and the effectiveness of post-integration evaluation.