Timothy R. Whisler
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198290742
- eISBN:
- 9780191684838
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198290742.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History
Mergers do not safeguard firms from long-term decline in terms of market share and profitability. The lack of sophisticated hierarchical corporate structures and vertical integration is evident in ...
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Mergers do not safeguard firms from long-term decline in terms of market share and profitability. The lack of sophisticated hierarchical corporate structures and vertical integration is evident in British industry compared to American and German industry. There is also a prevalence of unsophisticated corporate structures and personal management that can be observed after mergers take place. This chapter analyses how unsophisticated management techniques and corporate structures hindered the development of the progressively concentrated British industry. The consistency and pervasiveness of the strategy and structure of the British-owned motor manufacturers prior to 1968 reveals a path dependence that lead to the creation of unique British characteristics, which can be compared to characteristics of multinational and international rivals.Less
Mergers do not safeguard firms from long-term decline in terms of market share and profitability. The lack of sophisticated hierarchical corporate structures and vertical integration is evident in British industry compared to American and German industry. There is also a prevalence of unsophisticated corporate structures and personal management that can be observed after mergers take place. This chapter analyses how unsophisticated management techniques and corporate structures hindered the development of the progressively concentrated British industry. The consistency and pervasiveness of the strategy and structure of the British-owned motor manufacturers prior to 1968 reveals a path dependence that lead to the creation of unique British characteristics, which can be compared to characteristics of multinational and international rivals.
