Abstract
Top managers of British and French firms, which were recently acquired by either British or French firms, were surveyed as to their perceptions of the administrative approach-reflected in integrating mechanisms-used by the acquiring firms to estab- lish headquarters-subsidiary control. Four types of integrative mechanisms were examined: structural, systems, social, and managerial. A multiple analysis of covariance model, coupled with a two-nation (British and French), two-merger type (do- mestic, cross-national) sampling design, found evidence that the administrative approaches used by managers during merger in- tegration from two nations partially reflect their different heri- tages, and that these differences are consistent with national differences and the theoretical perspectives of institutional de- velopment and cross-cultural studies. Our findings, while ex- ploratory, provide insight into the administrative difficulties of managing across borders and help us understand why many cross-national firms continue to use ethnocentric approaches in spite of the incentives for adopting a transnational approach. Moreover, our findings add one more voice to a growing chorus calling for a theory of the firm, as embedded, institutionally, culturally, and historically.