Complex Systems and the Merger Process
- 1 September 2002
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Technology Analysis & Strategic Management
- Vol. 14 (3) , 315-329
- https://doi.org/10.1080/0953732022000002131
Abstract
This paper considers how some of the generic principles that have emerged in the course of recent study and thinking around complex systems might be applied in a helpful way to the particular context of understanding the nature of the merger process. Theoretically, the paper stresses the connections between the processual and time-dependent nature of learning and knowledge acquisition and the systemic nature of socio-economic development and transformation. When carried into the substantive domain of mergers and their contribution to restructuring in the pharmaceuticals industry, we suggest that the complex systems approach provides a fruitful complement to alternative conceptual frameworks, albeit one which is still at an early stage of development in terms of this particular application.Keywords
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