Centre for Technology Management

Building production competence and enhancing organizational capabilities through acquisition: the case of Mitsubishi Electric

T.H.W. Minshall & E.W. Garnsey

Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge, Mill Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1RX, UK

Abstract

Corporate acquisitions can provide an effective mechanism for maintaining growth in conditions of technological uncertainty, but their success is by no means assured. This paper presents a resource-based framework for analysing corporate acquisitions in times of rapid technological change. The paper discusses how such acquisitions can be used to access resources that are of immediate use, but also to enhance the acquirer's ability to access resources in the future. The acquisition of Apricot Computer in the UK by Japan's Mitsubishi Electric in 1990 is used as an illustrative case.