PALMER, Donald
Challengers, elites and owning families : a social class theory of corporate acquisitions in the 1960 - 2001
This paper analyzes data on 461 large U.S. industrial corporations to determine the factors that led large firms to participate in the have diversifying acquisitions that peaked in the late 1960s. We elaborate and test a class theory of corporate acqusitions, maintaining that firms pursued acquisitions in this period when they were commanded by well-networks but relatively marginal with respect to social status, isolated from the resistance of established elites, and free from control of owing families. We also consider a wide range of factors highlighted by alternative accounts of acquisitions likelihood, including resource dependence, institutional pressures, and principal-agent conflicts. The results provide support for our main theoretical arguments, even when cotrols related to alternative explanations are taken into account
Challengers, elites and owning families : a social class theory of corporate acquisitions in the 1960 - 2001
This paper analyzes data on 461 large U.S. industrial corporations to determine the factors that led large firms to participate in the have diversifying acquisitions that peaked in the late 1960s. We elaborate and test a class theory of corporate acqusitions, maintaining that firms pursued acquisitions in this period when they were commanded by well-networks but relatively marginal with respect to social status, isolated from the resistance of established elites, and free from control of owing families. We also consider a wide range of factors highlighted by alternative accounts of acquisitions likelihood, including resource dependence, institutional pressures, and principal-agent conflicts. The results provide support for our main theoretical arguments, even when cotrols related to alternative explanations are taken into account
