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From light touch to top management control: HSBC’s integration of its first two acquired subsidiaries 1960-1980

Lu, Qing; Toms, Steven; Wei, Yingqi

Authors

Steven Toms

Yingqi Wei



Abstract

This research contributes to British multinational banking history, post-acquisition integration and legitimacy research, by exploring HSBC’s top management control integration with its first two acquired British banks, during the period 1960–1980, from the social psychological perspective of legitimacy judgement. It explores why HSBC’s key decision-maker’s legitimacy judgement of the initial decision to retain its acquired subsidiaries’ top management control shifted from legitimate to illegitimate and how HSBC built legitimacy for its integration decisions with the subsidiaries’ staff. It thus complements Chandler (1990) and Jones (1993) by exploring the critical role played by individuals in the integration process and showing that slower integration also had benefits for the parent’s Group interests due to the distinctive characteristics of the banking business. In addition, due to the uniqueness of HSBC, this research also has some indications for research about the post-acquisition integration of emerging market-based multinationals.

Citation

Lu, Q., Toms, S., & Wei, Y. (2023). From light touch to top management control: HSBC’s integration of its first two acquired subsidiaries 1960-1980. Business history, 65(4), 656-678. https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2021.1883000

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 22, 2021
Online Publication Date Feb 18, 2021
Publication Date 2023
Deposit Date Feb 26, 2021
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Business History
Print ISSN 0007-6791
Electronic ISSN 1743-7938
Publisher Routledge
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 65
Issue 4
Pages 656-678
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2021.1883000
Keywords Post-acquisition integration; Legitimacy judgement; Legitimisation strategy; Socio-psychological perspective; Managerial hierarchies; Light touch; British multinational banks; Emerging multinational companies; Case study; Joint disciplinary research; HSBC
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3729507
Publisher URL https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00076791.2021.1883000?src=

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©2021 The authors. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright holder





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