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To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2008.02243.x Byline: Ian Gregory-Smith (1), Steve Thompson (1), Peter W. Wright (1) Abstract: We apply duration analysis to model the tenure and mode of exit of CEOs from FTSE 350 companies from 1996-2005, a decade in which corporate governance reforms have sought to increase the accountability of the CEO to shareholders and their representatives on the board. We find a greater likelihood of dismissal in the latter part of the period. However, we also find that the likelihood of forced departure sharply decreases from the fifth year of a CEO's tenure. We find evidence that this is because CEOs who survive beyond year four are able to entrench themselves in their position. Author Affiliation: (1)University of Nottingham

This article examines the role of control change transactions, such as acquisitions, in shaping productivity and wages from the neoclassic economic perspective.

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5957.2007.02008.x Byline: Michelle Haynes (1), Steve Thompson, Mike Wright (1) Keywords: executive remuneration; divestment; dynamic panel data Abstract: Abstract: This study examines the impact of voluntary divestment on executive remuneration, using an unbalanced panel of 107 UK quoted companies over the period 1988 to 1993. It employs a dynamic compensation equation, with a vector of controls and alternative specifications of the divestment effect. The results show no general direct evidence of a remuneration process that rewards managers for downsizing their firms. Indeed the substantial pay-size elasticity implies the reverse. However, divestment does have a positive and significant effect in raising executive remuneration under a regime of strong corporate governance, defined in terms of the presence of a substantial blockholder. Author Affiliation: (1)The authors are from the Centre for Management Buy-out Research, Nottingham University Business School. Article History: (Paper received October 2004, revised version accepted October 2006. Online publication June 2007) Article note: (*) Address for correspondence: Mike Wright, Centre for Management Buy-out Research, Nottingham University Business School, Jubilee Campus, Nottingham NG8 1BB, UK. e-mail: mike.wright@nottingham.ac.uk

The effect of acquisitions by the technology importing industries of United States and European Union on the productivity of domestic firms in United Kingdom is examined. Domestic economy scenario effected by such acquisitions are also analyzed.

The contributions of Edith Penrose to the fields of strategy and economics and analyze the new research from both perspectives on the process of firm growth, an area pioneered by Penrose is examined.

The effects business mergers and acquisitions on employee's salaries are analyzed by focusing on database collected from the United Kingdom between 1979-91.

The authors indicate that a divestment response is appropriate when a firm is over-diversified for current conditions.

Patterns of entry and exit of manufacturing companies in Poland during transition to a free enterprise system are similar to those of more developed countries.

The authors find, upon examining 132 United Kingdom companies from 1985 to 1993, that divestment and activity scope narrowing proved beneficial to profit. Benefits are not necessarily higher for weakly governed, or more diversified, or larger firms.

A study of United Kingdom foreign acquisitions finds that foreign manufacturing firms pay higher wages and achieve higher productivity, 3.4% and 13% respectively.

This paper provides a systematic empirical analysis of the effects of take-over and merger activity on firm employment in the United Kingdom using a specially constructed database for the period 1967-1996. Our results indicate that significant rationalisations in the use of labour occur as firms reduce joint output and increase efficiency postmerger. These effects are particularly pronounced in the case of related and especially hostile mergers. JEL classification: J23; L23 Keywords: Mergers; Acquisitions; Panel data; Labour demand

The gains in productivity in the economy by the use of information technology is discussed. The effects of automated tellers in British building societies is used as an example.

UK financial mutuals have undergone mergers and provide material for studying comparative agency problems. Stakeholders such as shareholders have benefits from pay-offs where joint stock companies have been involved in acquisitions. Merger proposals for mutuals give de facto acknowledgement to depositor rights. Motivations of acquirers have influenced compensation levels. Voting rights are important in mutuals as they are within joint stock firms.

A study on CEO remuneration using a sample of UK building societies is presented. The study reinforces the potential for inefficiencies in mutuals. The study identifies age, rather than performance improvements, as the chief personal characteristic that determines an increase in remuneration for CEOs. The study suggests the absence of a mechanism that can align manager and owner interests in UK building societies.

A study was conducted on the short- and long-term effects of management buy-outs. Data from the UK market for the period 1982-1992 were examined. Results showed that buy-outs result in significant short-term performance improvements. Transaction size, institutional control variables and the number of buy-out team members were found to be the main factors influencing the longetivity of buy-outs.

The effectiveness of corporate restructuring as a modified form of corporate governance is analyzed. This type of governance is considered appropriate to UK and US capital markets where the danger of inadequate control over management arises because of their stress on shareholder independence from firms which benefit from their investment. The restructuring process is considered a more flexible approach in dealing with such details as the product market and life cycle.

Efficiency wages are a necessary tool of corporate governance in mutual savings and loans corporations. A model is used to test for the existence of efficiency wages in a mutual sector, in which the use of conventional control mechanisms encounters difficulties. Findings support the hypothesis that efficiency wages yield superior performance. It was also found that efficiency wages are potential providers of an equitable incentive mechanism for organizations.

Introduction DURING THE 1980s MANAGEMENT BUY-OUTS grew rapidly in the UK and since 1987 have accounted for over half the annual new investment made by members of the British Venture [...]

Diversification is often pursued as a means for firms to exploit their specific assets or capabilities. Input supply contracts provide one way of supporting a diversification effort by allowing a firm to rely on the resources of outside producers through a collaborative agreement. However, high transactions costs may preclude such collaboration and encourage wholly-owned new entries instead. The deregulation of the financial services industry in the UK during the 1980s provides an opportunity to study the conditions that determine which of the two diversification options is chosen by firms. Analysis of data from 292 new entrants in 13 financial products markets reveals that collaboration is chosen by firms that want to ease a resource limitation, while full ownership is the option preferred by those characterized by specificity.

Previous research on management buyouts suffer from a restricted view of their longevity because of over-emphasis on highly leveraged transactions. Quantitative and case study data from the UK are used to correct this narrow research experience by testing several hypotheses across a wide range of buyout types. Buyouts refer to the transfer of a firm's assets to another company expressly designed to manage the ailing firm and are often characterized by a high concentration of management equity holdings and reliance on debt. Analysis indicates that heterogeneity characterizes buyouts, with public sector or foreign privatization and larger buyouts resulting in earlier exit, as indicated by the quantitative evidence. Case studies, on the other hand, support the hypothesis that rapid market changes and the strength of financing institutions relative to management is the rationale for earlier exit.

The UK Building Societies Act 1986 deregulated the UK financial services industry, allowing diversification and resulting in increased market capacity. The deregulation of the industry has been criticised for encouraging overbidding and the creation of unecessary capacity. The study examines deregulation and its implications. It concludes that regulation divides markets and prevents economies of scope. Diversification is beneficial to financial service companies because it allows them to operate according to their capabilities.