RELATIVE STANDING AND THE PERFORMANCE OF RECENTLY ACQUIRED EUROPEAN FIRMS

This study draws on the concepts of relative standing to explain the p ost-merger performance of recently acquired European firms. We used a 2 x 3 sampling design where we surveyed top managers of British and Fr ench firms that were acquired by British French, and U.S. firms as to their-perceptions of cultural compatibility with the buying firms, the ir sense of loss of autonomy since the merger, and post-merger perform ance. While we found that the theory adequately explains the post-merg er performance of both British and French firms, suggesting that this primarily 'made-in-the-United States' organization theory extends beyo nd the cultural domain of the United States, we also found an aspect o f the theory that reflects a possible cultural bias. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.