How do top-management principles affect international acquisition processes? - The case of Toyota

Abstract

Most acquisition studies try to find all-embracing explanations as to how an acquisition and its integration are handled, rather than seeing the acquisitions as embedded in the management of the company. This paper links acquisitions to the management of the specific company through relating acquisitions to the management principles of the acquirer. It thereby sheds light on the specificity, rather than generalisability, of acquisitions. Management principles refer to the underlying ideas of the company, its values and ways to pursue business. The paper asks: How could a company's management principles be understood in an acquisition process? A single, particular case study constructs the empirical part of the paper: Toyota's first cross-continental acquisition. The paper links the handling of the acquisition and integration to the well-known Toyota Way. The paper contributes to previous literature through discussing an acquisition process as embedded in the overall management of the company and points to the specificities rather than the commonalities in acquisition processes.