The vast majority of the acquisitions of UK‐quoted companies are friendly. This paper compares the accounting, financial and governance characteristics of firms that were acquired by friendly take‐over with those of firms that were not taken over. Evidence is found that targets exhibited...

The development of the large modern corporation, and the separation of ownership from control, has raised questions about the objectives these companies set themselves. Discusses the markets and hierarchies model of organizational structures. Analyses the claim that specific organizational...

In large firms the managers who run the business tend not to be large shareholders. In addition, managers are said to have objectives which differ from those of the owners. Aligning these conflicting interests is the basis of the agency problem. Various corporate governance schemes have been...

Analyses the link between management buyouts (MBOs) and the entrepreneurial process. Argues that, at least initially, a management‐based explanation of entrepreneurial activity is the most appropriate for MBOs. Assesses a number of performance variables to determine the impact of the MBOs....

An important characteristic of public limited liability companies is that those which provide a company’s finance are not involved in the running of the business. It is therefore in the interests of the owners (shareholders) to ensure that the management team is implementing policies...