Contradicting management control ideologies : a study of integration processes following cross-border acquisitions of large multinationals

The 1990s and early 2000s witnessed some of the largest cross-border acquisitions in business history. This thesis studies how key management control actors experienced the integration processes following two cross-border acquisitions. The overall purpose is to study a particular management control model following an acquisition of two foreign multinationals and following an acquisition by a foreign multinational. A subset of three research questions is developed for these purposes: 1) to examine the actors' experiences regarding possible contradictions and their consequences; 2) to unravel actors' responses to conformity pressures; and 3) to illustrate the major elements and forces that thwart or enable integration."