This book addresses three important areas of concern for managers and management researchers. What are the management challenges involved in the acquisition of a foreign subsidiary? Which post-acquisition changes lead to better performance among acquired companies? What scope is there for the retention of national styles of management when building international networks through acquisition? In addressing these questions, the authors examine acquisitions by foreign companies in the UK. They discuss the theoretical background to the debate over the significance of national management practices as opposed to international norms of 'best practice' shaped by global forces transcending national boundaries. They then compare and contrast the management practices of the five countries from which the acquirers covered in this book originate: the UK, the USA, Japan, France, and Germany. The authors' research indicates that while considerable convergence is taking place on many dimensions of management practice, distinct national management styles still exist among acquiring companies. The findings also show that although some policies are generally associated with better post-acquisition performance across the board, no one national approach is more successful than another, so long as it is implemented with confidence, determination, and consistency. Failure tends to follow from a lack of these qualities, rather than from having the 'wrong' management style.

Child, Faulkner, and Pitkethly fill a very important void in the literature on mergers and acquisitions with this book. * Academy of Management Review, Jan 2002, Vol.27 Iss 1 *
Child, Faulkner, and Pitkethly have done a commendable job in advancing the state of knowledge on international acquisitions. The findings of this book are insightful and interesting, and the issues raised will undoubtedly motivate other researchers to further explore the complex set of issues associated with the management of international acquisitions. * Academy of Management Review, Jan 2002, Vol.27 Iss 1 *
John Child ... David Faulkner and Robert Pitkethy ... add immensely by their book to our knowledge of the impact of nationality on international acquisitions ... the book presents one of the stronges arguments in mergers and acquisitions literature for how to manage cross-cultural differences. * John W.Hunt, Financial Times, 8 June 2001 *

John Child is Chair of Commerce at the Birmingham Business School and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Hong Kong. He was the Founding Director of both the Centre for International Business and Management, University of Cambridge, and of the Chinese Management Centre, University of Hong Kong. He consults for major corporations in the areas of strategic alliances, organizational design, organizational learning, and business operations in China, and is the author of numerous publications including Strategies of Co-operation (with David Faulkner, OUP 1998). David Faulkner is University Lecturer in Strategic Management at the Saïd Business School and Tutorial Fellow at Christ Church, University of Oxford. He spent much of his career as a strategic management consultant with McKinsey and Co. and Arthur D. Little before moving into academic life. He has been Deputy Director (undergraduate courses) and Deputy Director (MBA) of the Saïd Business School. His publications include Strategies of Co-operation (with John Child, OUP 1998) and Co-operative Strategies: Economic, Business, and Organanizational Issues (edited with Mark de Rond, OUP 2000). Robert Pitkethly is a Departmental Lecturer in Management Studies at the Saïd Business School, teaching strategic management and management of technology and intellectual property. He is also a Senior Fellow of St Peter's College, University of Oxford. Previous appointments have included Visiting Fellow at both the Institute of Intellectual Property and the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy in Tokyo, and Research Fellow at the Judge Institute of Management Studies, University of Cambridge.