Regulatory focus theory proposes that decision making and goal pursuit occur via either a promotion focus (a sensitivity to gains and desire for advancement and growth) or a prevention focus (a ...sensitivity to losses and a desire for stability and security). Recent theorizing in strategic management research suggests that there may be important firmlevel outcomes influenced by the regulatory focus of top executives. We expand research on regulatory focus theory by testing whether chief executive officers' (CEOs') regulatory focus impacts the proclivity of firms to undertake acquisitions. Furthermore, regulatory focus theory suggests that the effects of people's promotion and prevention foci are magnified when their regulatory focus is congruent with salient situational characteristics, a phenomenon known as regulatory fit. As a test of this idea, we demonstrate how the effects of CEO promotion and prevention foci are differentially impacted by one such characteristic, namely incentive compensation. Our findings indicate that CEO regulatory focus impacts both the quantity and scale of acquisitions undertaken by a firm. We also find some support for our arguments that these relationships are moderated by stock option pay.
Acquisitions often occur in waves within industries. We extend the theoretical understanding of such waves by drawing upon research on early mover advantage and bandwagon effects to develop arguments ...regarding the likely performance potential of participating at different points in an acquisition wave. In line with our theoretical model, we find acquisition performance is higher for early movers but lower for acquirers that participate at the height of the acquisition wave. Although we find this general performance trend, our findings suggest both industry and acquirer characteristics influence the degree to which firms seize early mover advantages or fall prey to bandwagon pressures. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Competitive aggressiveness has been at the center of competitive dynamics literature for decades, however there is no consensus as to its primary drivers and performance consequences. Thus, we ...present the results of a meta-analysis of the antecedents to and consequences of competitive aggressiveness using three aggressiveness components—competitive volume, complexity, and heterogeneity. Leveraging the awareness, motivation, capability framework as a guide of the drivers of competitive aggressiveness, we find that greater organizational size and age, lower slack resources and prior performance, greater market growth, lower market concentration, and more heterogeneous top management teams lead to more aggressive actions. In addition, we found that among the different components of aggressiveness competitive volume improved operating performance.
Scholars from multiple fields have shown increasing interest in the causes and consequences of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Although this proliferation of research has the potential to ...significantly improve our understanding of M&A activity, absent is the necessary step of consolidating and integrating extant knowledge. Accordingly, this article develops a framework to organize and review recent empirical findings, principally from management, economics, and finance in which interest in acquisition behavior is high but also from other areas that have tangentially explored acquisition activity such as accounting and sociology. This article identifies patterns and theoretical gaps and provides recommendations for future research aimed at developing a more integrated M&A research agenda for management scientists.
Research summary: We identify two types of knowledge leverage behaviors undertaken by acquiring firms: integrated and independent knowledge leverage. We address how the prior exploitation or ...exploration orientation of acquirers influence these two modes of knowledge leverage behaviors. The degree of exploitation of acquirers promotes integrating their existing knowledge with acquired knowledge in innovative actions. In contrast, the degree of exploration of acquirers increases the likelihood that new innovations will use acquired knowledge without integrating it with their prior knowledge. In addition, the firm's prior acquisition rate moderates the relationship between the acquiring firms' previous exploitation or exploration orientation and their knowledge leverage mode. The findings of this article suggest that preacquisition innovation capabilities are distinct from but influence the post-acquisition innovation actions. Managerial summary: Firms often undertake acquisitions to gain access to new knowledge, but they can differ dramatically in how they leverage acquired knowledge. We show that the firm's prior innovation patterns drive this choice. Firms that have previously focused on incremental innovations in their internal innovation efforts tend to integrate acquired knowledge with their own prior knowledge. In contrast, firms that have previously pursued bold innovations tend to leverage acquired knowledge alone in new innovations. Thus, we show that firms use acquisitions as a means to extend their internal innovation patterns—firms that have focused on incremental innovations extend that with acquisitions by linking new innovations to their prior knowledge while firms that have pursued bold initiatives use acquired knowledge to move in new technology directions.
This study aims to explore the perspectives of school inspectors and leaders on the quality of school inspection in four countries with different inspection systems: Dubai, Ireland, New Zealand, and ...Pakistan. The study also examines the general perceptions of school leaders and inspectors about the impact of quality assurance agencies on teaching and learning in these countries. Using semi-structured interviews of school leaders (
n
= 28) and inspectors (
n
= 14), the research found that school leaders’ experiences and perceptions of school inspection and evaluation were varied in and across all four countries. While some expressed dissatisfaction with the inspectors and the process, others regarded it as a beneficial endeavor that instilled a sense of vigilance and attentiveness toward the quality standards and inspection criteria. School leaders’ experiences and perceptions were mostly positive in Dubai and mixed in the cases of Ireland, New Zealand and Pakistan. Furthermore, the study found a negative correlation between the perception of school leaders and inspectors regarding the quality of inspection practices and their perception of the impact of inspection. Thus, it is imperative to establish improved avenues of communication to facilitate heightened awareness among school leaders regarding the efficacy of inspectors’ work and the comprehensive measures implemented by inspectorates to ensure the quality of their own practices. This initiative will foster enhanced trust between school leaders and inspectors, consequently amplifying the overall influence of school inspections.
This paper posits that almost all inspectorates are now following, if to varying degrees, a similar overarching ideology and methodology for school accountability and improvement. The first part of ...the paper provides an analysis of recent changes to school inspection policies across Frontiers. Using Ireland as a case example, the next part of the paper provides an analysis of Irish school inspection policies and practices that appear to mirror other school inspection systems. To test these assumptions, the paper then provides an analysis of a key informant interview with the Chief Inspector of schools in Ireland.
The evidence suggests that there is an increasingly convergent approach to school evaluation discernible across all inspection frontiers. Among the many aspects of this changing landscape is the rapid pace at which schools have accepted school inspection frameworks and the emergence of a genuinely co-professional as opposed to co-existent mode of evaluation between the inspectorate and schools.
In this paper, we provide an overview of the development of school inspection in Ireland over the past twenty years using the analytic and critical lens developed by Richard Boyle in partnership with ...the current authors. The paper is fundamentally a reflection on the nature, purpose and operation of evaluation in the Irish public sector through the lens of education. The paper provides a historical overview of developments in the linked areas of school evaluation and inspection, and goes on to explore how the implementation of this mode of quality assurance has influenced, and been influenced by, a wide range of policy actors. The argument made is that education has embedded a culture of evaluation in a unique yet systemically resonant manner and that a reflection on this reality will help illuminate our understanding of the role of evaluation across the public sector as a whole.
Across the world, teachers’ classroom assessment tasks and responsibilities are becoming more diverse due to increased migration. In this review, we address how migrant students are affected by ...assessment, both summative and formative, at the classroom level, with a focus on culturally responsive assessment (CRA). Previous research has shown that CRA practices mainly occur in student-centred classrooms. Furthermore, both student and teacher beliefs about teaching and learning might negatively affect migrant students’ opportunities to engage in assessment situations. Teaching and assessment practices should be negotiated and aligned with and included in classroom norms to be culturally responsive. We propose that what is generally considered a valid and reliable assessment practice might need to be adjusted to account for students’ cultural ways of knowing and participating and how this is expressed and communicated within the classroom.
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