AbstractCorporate takeovers have added to the social and economic problems of industrial communities already devastated by plant closures. Foreign takeover activity has increased significantly in recent years in the United States, yet surprisingly little is known about community-based anti-takeover movements. One such movement occurred in March and April 1990 in Worcester, Massachusetts, where a coalition of workers, employers, public officials, and community groups mobilized to change legislation affecting takeovers of corporations in Massachusetts. The legislation prevented the acquisition of Norton Company, a multinational manufacturer of abrasives and Worcester's largest private employer, by B.T.R., a British multinational corporation. The changes in takeover legislation gave Norton directors time to negotiate a friendly merger with a Paris-based multinational, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain. This merger met no opposition in Worcester. The extent and depth of community opposition to B.T.R., compared to the...