Changes in Management Practice and the Post-Acquisition Performance Achieved by Direct Investors in the UK

Changes in the competitive performance of 201 UK firms acquired by foreign investors are examined. Performance improvement was found to be associated with the introduction of changes to management practice rather than with contextual factors such as acquirer nationality, size, date of acquisition, profitability of subsidiary at acquisition or sector. The changes having most impact were increased efforts to improve the market image of the acquired company, the development of new products and services, and moves towards involving and developing staff. There appears to be more than one path towards post-acquisition performance improvement, with distinctions emerging between Anglo-American, Japanese and, to a lesser extent, French approaches. The successful Anglo-American approach involves a product innovation strategy, increased decentralization and improved training. High-performing Japanese acquisitions tend to emphasize a price-competitive strategy, to increase centralization and to adopt a longer-term HRM policy. The French path towards good post-acquisition performance includes increased cost control, more open communication and decentralization. The general conclusion of the investigation is that foreign acquisition can harness the assets and competencies of UK companies to good effect, but that there is more than one way of achieving this result.     

'It's a Very Foreign Discipline': the Genesis of Expenses Control in a Mutual Life Insurance Company

This paper is drawn from an intensive case study of Pensco - a mutual life insurance company in the South of England. The original objective of the research was to examine corporate strategy as an aspect of management control. As the research proceeded, it became clear that a new system of budgeting and expenses control was a crucial element of the transformation of the company from its 'sleepy’ paternalistic traditions into an aggressive, competitive financial services company. The paper contextualizes the development of budgeting and expenses control in Pensco within changes in the British economy. These are associated with the rise of the New Right, transformations in the financial services sector relating to deregulation and the establishment of a new regulatory framework. The argument of the paper is that budgeting and accounting control in this company has a complex genealogy revolving around a number of conditions coinciding at a particular point in time. Our case study material also reveals a variety of tensions, contradictions and resistances to the new management regime that placed, considerable obstacles in the way of an effective implementation of the new accounting and management controls     

Strategic intent in the management of the green environment within SMEs: An analysis of the UK screen-printing sector

What drives the environmental behaviour of companies is an under-researched and under-developed area of study, particularly in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This article investigates to what extent the responses by UK screen-printing companies to pressures to improve their environmental performance represented a deliberate attempt by senior managers to provide their organisations with a strategic competitive advantage.Using both a quantitative and qualitative approach, the research shows that the environmental responses of this sector tended to be reactive, defensive and driven by – and frequently limited to – legislative compliance. Even though companies accepted that there were potential commercial benefits to be gained from environmental action, there was very little evidence to indicate that managerial decisions were motivated by strategic intent or that managerial mindsets were tuned to the notion that a proactive environmental response could offer a competitive edge. The article discusses the management implications of this lack of strategic orientation and highlights how a more innovative response by companies could provide both demand and supply side benefits.     

Technology,Human Resources and Turbulent Change in Lucas and Bosch: A Plant Level Study1

This paper studies two companies in a period of turbulent technological change. Based on historical data for the 1980s, it examines the technology and human resource strategies of Lucas Industries PLC and Robert Bosch GmbH both at a group and plant level. It draws two main conclusions: first that stability in company strategy is a key to understanding competitive performance and second that the way in which strategy is transmitted to the individual plant level and diffused into actual working practices is similarly central to effective performance.     

价格下界随时间递增的占线采购问题

本文研究的是价格不确定且其下界随时间递增的原材料采购问题。在实际的原材料采购问题中,原材料的价格随时间的变动往往是不可预测的。之前的学者在研究价格不确定的占线采购问题时,假设价格在一个统一的常数上下界内,这没有考虑到经过时间的变化,价格的上下界可能也是变化的。本文提出并研究价格下界随时间递增的原材料占线采购问题。构建了相应数学模型,给出了相应的竞争采购策略并证明了竞争比,同时通过证明问题的匹配竞争比下界,说明给出的竞争采购策略是最优的,最后利用数值分析进一步说明竞争策略具有较好的竞争性能。     

Regulating Shareholder Value: A Case Study of the Introduction of Value–based Measures in a Water Company

The implementation of a value–based measurement system within a privatized UK regional water company is examined by means of a longitudinal case study. Evidence is presented of how the system was developed within the context of a regulatory environment, which presented special considerations to the company in designing and implementing an appropriate system. In particular the paper considers the implementation issues surrounding the management of the introduction of the value–based measures at the operational level. The authors describe the drivers behind the introduction of the new system and the technical, political and cultural challenges raised by its implementation.     

The limits of price leadership: needs-based positioning strategy and the long-term competitiveness of Europe’s low fare airlines

This article argues that a strategy of low operating costs and cheap prices is not sufficient in and of itself to establish long term competitive advantage for a growing company. Companies also need to leverage their distinctive corporate capabilities and unique experiences. In the case of service sector companies such as airlines, capabilities derive from the relationship which exists between the company, its employees, and its customers, as well as the reputation which is gradually established on the basis of reliability and quality of service. Unique experiences arise from the corporate culture and route network which an airline builds over time.     

Management Perceptions of Market Liberalization

Previous studies, examining the impact of market liberalization in the emerging nations, at the level of the firm, included analyses of whether newly privatized state-enterprises financially perform better than they did before privatization. The impact of changes in the liberalized economic environment on companies that have been operating in the private sector has received scant attention. Recognizing that management control of smaller and medium-sized firms in emerging nations remains in the hands of the founders, or the founders' family members, this paper reports the findings of a survey from a region in India focusing on managerial perceptions of performance at the company-level and the manufacturing-level. The statistical results suggest that market liberalization is perceived as having a positive impact at the company-level. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Assigning migrants to customer contact jobs: a context-specific exploration of the business case for diversity

Ethnic diversity of both their labor forces and customer bases presents a challenge for companies and fuels debate on the business case for diversity: the view that diversity positively impacts firm performance. This study enriches the business case debate by focusing on a particular organizational activity, customer contact. It combines theory from strategic human resource management (SHRM), research on diversity, and research on marketing to analyze what drives companies to assign migrants to customer contact jobs and which performance impacts ensue. We test our hypotheses in data from 338 German business companies. Companies that recognize the value in ethnic diversity and seek to respond to customer diversity are especially likely to assign migrants to customer contact jobs. The analyses reveal a positive impact of migrants in customer contact jobs on company profitability. This impact is enhanced by a broad range of equality and diversity practices and a supportive works council. These moderators have stronger effects than two other moderators related to business strategy: the market served by a company, and its competitive strategy. The paper contributes to SHRM research in general and diversity research in particular through its original examination associating the business case for ethnic diversity with the role of equality and diversity practices and institutions. The study findings can help managers to decide whether to leverage staff ethnic diversity and show that collaboration between HR management and marketing functions is useful to achieve a strategic fit among practices.     

竞合供应链的采购与质量决策研究

研究由原始设备制造商、竞争供应商与非竞争供应商构成的竞合供应链中原始设备制造商的采购决策,并分析了品牌效应、竞争供应商的模仿能力、非竞争供应商的原材料供应能力对采购模式选择与质量决策的影响。结果表明,双源采购对原始设备制造商而言是最优的采购策略;竞争供应商模仿能力较小时,原始设备制造商决策的产品质量随竞争供应商模仿能力的增大而提高,而当竞争供应商的模仿能力较大时,其模仿能力的增强会导致原始设备制造商降低产品的质量;原始设备制造商的品牌效应可以降低竞争供应商的竞争程度;非竞争供应商提高原材料供应能力并不一定能为自己带来更高的利润。本文考虑品牌效应和竞争供应商模仿能力等对原始设备制造商质量和采购决策的影响,扩展了现有的研究。     

Employability management practices in the Polish ICT sector

This article examines current career thinking and employability management practices within the Polish Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. The aim of this contribution is to identify career management problems and to determine obstacles for implementing employability management practices at a company level. Semi-structured interviews aimed at establishing company needs were conducted with 18 managers of small and medium-sized ICT enterprises in Poland. These firms appear to apply various developmental approaches to stimulate competitive advantage. Faced with a more demanding environment, firms aim for versatility rather than adopting simplified solutions. Managing the careers and employability of ICT professionals is acknowledged as vitally important for the survival and development of ICT companies.     

基金公司竞争策略研究——基于产品创新和机制创新视角

本文以2004-2012年提供开放式基金的基金公司为研究对象,以基金公司市场份额为切入点,利用动态面板模型,检验了基金公司历史业绩、产品创新策略和机制创新策略在基金公司竞争中的有效性。实证结果显示历史业绩是影响基金公司市场竞争力的重要因素,基金投资者偏好具有产品创新能力和机制创新精神的基金公司,并不热衷于投资成立时间久、旗下基金数量众多的老牌金公司,对基金公司股东背景也没有显著偏好。进一步细分市场发现,在股票型基金市场上,实施创造明星策略有利于获得更高市场份额。在债券型基金市场上,提高新基金供给量和相对供给强度是最优策略。与股票型基金市场相同,在混合型基金市场上提供具有实质性创新特征的新基金、增加基金从业者持基的基金数量,有助于获得更大市场份额。因此,基金公司决策层在制定竞争战略时,应当考虑基金投资者对产品创新认知能力的提高和对利益绑定机制的诉求,依据基金类型的不同,设计具有针对性的竞争策略。     

Enhancing competitive advantage by constructing supply chains to achieve superior performance

This paper studies the impact of configuring supply chain design strategies on performance using real-world example of aligning different supply chain practices to supply chain strategies to achieve competitive advantage. The paper first carries out a synthesis of literature categorising the supply chain strategies, practices and linking them to contexts and competitive advantage. The paper then uses a case study methodology to explore the process of adjusting supply chain strategies and aligned practices to gain competitive advantage in different contexts. The paper reports two case examples of a leaf tobacco company and a mosquito coil manufacturer from India facing different demand characteristics and implementing different supply chain strategies for enhancing performance objectives. Both companies faced a change in their business environment and competitive priorities. In both the examples, companies used a combination of practices for implementing appropriate supply chain strategies to gain competitive advantage. This paper contributes to the academic discipline of supply chain management through developing theory showing the transition of supply chain strategies for achieving superior performance in different business environments. The paper has wide managerial implications by reporting real-life implementation of different supply chain strategies thus bridging the practice-theory gap.     

并购后高管变更的绩效影响:基于中国上市公司的实证分析

基于前人关于高管变更和公司控制权市场的研究,本文分析了上市公司控制权变化后高管变更和绩效之间的关系。我们假设上市公司控制权变更后,高管的变更会促进这些公司财务绩效的提高。本文选用1996-2001年间深圳和上海证券交易所中76家高管随第一大股东变动而变更的上市公司作为样本,并设立了47家第一大股东变动而高管未变更的上市公司作为对比组,用经过行业调整的财务绩效来分析比较。结果发现,公司控制权变化后高管变更的公司的绩效显著提高,而且绩效表现好于公司控制权变化后高管未变动的上市公司的绩效表现。     

Biodiversity: new trends in Environmental Management

For a variety of reasons, biodiversity is currently an important issue, and increasingly seen as a problem over which the corporate sector needs to take ownership. There are dramatic statistics about the decline of biodiversity, and the corporate sector is both partially responsible and subject to its impacts. This means that for most companies, the environmental goal posts are starting to move: having an Environmental Management System which controls waste and energy is now the lowest standard; the bench-mark of best practice is a sustainability strategy whose environmental aspect integrates biodiversity into the EMS. This can be achieved through company Biodiversity Action Plans, and an increasing body of best practice exists highlighting this approach.     

A review of the Chinese cultural influences on Chinese enterprise management

In order to create and sustain competitive advantage, a company should not only develop technologies to create products and processes that meet customer needs, but also stimulate a corporate culture that commits to continuous performance improvement. Managing corporate culture is one of a number of important factors that make for organizational change and business success. This paper reviews the cultural roots and identifies the characteristics of Chinese cultural values and management. A comparative analysis of the differences between Anglo-American and Chinese cultures is made. The cultural influences on Chinese management systems are then elaborated with reference to enterprise management in Mainland China and Hong Kong. With unique cultural heritage, collective orientation has a pervasive influence on the mode of Chinese management and organization. The prevailing Chinese culture values stress largely the paternalistic approach to management, acceptance of hierarchy and the importance of relationships. Today's Chinese enterprises need to determine changes in practice or value or both aspects of corporate culture in order to facilitate organizational change and maintain a competitive edge over their rivals. The paper also discusses the links of cultural values to employee involvement (EI) and total quality management (TQM), and initiates a need to manage cultural influences on EI/TQM practices to improve organizational performance in Chinese enterprises.     

企业家战略--培育创新能力的企业内部战略

近几年来,在超强竞争背景下国外兴起的企业家战略,是公司努力将组织各个层次的员工培育为普遍具有企业家精神、思维和行动的战略,是努力将整个公司转变为能够发挥员工企业家精神的战略.企业家公司以异质的企业家人力资本和企业家智力资产持续创新,破坏均衡,产生竞争优势和显著的业绩.企业家战略理论研究的是公司如何获得具有创新、变革、远见卓识和承担风险的能力,是对正在兴起的内部战略理论的丰富和发展.企业家战略与核心能力理论互相补充,并且改变了某些传统的战略管理观念.     

Company rescue—An example

Growing competition and rising costs, together with an international recession, have made it much harder for companies to survive. The most prosperous companies are often those based on new inventions and new products while the hardest hit seem to be those engaged in conventional, mature products. This example described in this article is a case where a company, at the eleventh hour, was saved from bankruptcy by proper, systematic use of well known management techniques. The economic results developed so well, after the change of strategy, that in 4 years time it was possible to build and invest in new, modern plant.     

Implementation of S-DBR in four manufacturing SMEs: a research case study

Production planning and control systems (PPCs) are tools that have a major effect on the performance of manufacturing companies. An inappropriate determination of the applicability of PPCs could seriously jeopardise the ability to achieve competitive priorities. This mistake can be expensive for any company, but proper implementation is particularly critical for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are characterised by limited access to financial resources. Simplified Drum–Buffer–Rope (S-DBR) is a PPC control approach that is characterised by minimum detail in the planning stage and a primary emphasis on the control of execution. Therefore, this approach is a suitable choice for the highly variable context of SMEs. This study aims to explore the practical issues related to S-DBR implementation in four Ecuadorian SMEs through case study research. The case analysis within this study first identifies the choices made in the implementation process design within the four companies according to process and product characteristics. We then conduct a cross-case analysis to explore the effects of the S-DBR implementation process designs on a group of performance measures. Our research findings provide new insights into the S-DBR implementation process in the context of SMEs, and the effects of this approach on performance measures.     

需求依赖于库存的易变质品在线采购问题研究

根据现实生活中常见的库存量越大越吸引消费者购买兴趣的现象，本文建立了需求依赖于库存的易变质品采购模型。在不假设价格服从任何分布的条件下，提出了采购价格不确定背景下的易变质品在线采购策略。本文采用在线问题及其竞争分析的方法来进行建模分析，设计出有效的在线竞争采购价格驱动的(s,S)策略，与离线最优策略进行比较，得出理论竞争比和最优经济采购数量和采购时间间隔。最后，通过数值算例说明该策略在现实中具有较好的实际竞争性能比，且在多个价格序列下都表现良好，从而说明了该策略是鲁棒的，可以为企业提供有价值的决策建议。