In order to pass this ‘acid test’, the company's manufacturing strategy was constantly being revised. Bottom-line profitability was improved by squeezing costs through divestment, outsourcing and rationalization (Ezzamel et al., 2008). Similarly, based on case studies of General Electric, Ford and GlaxoSmithKline, Froud et al. (2006) found that growing pressure from the capital market had redefined company strategy. The general strategic problem for the large quoted firms was delivering the appropriate financial numbers, accompanied by a narrative of strategic intent to support it.
Our findings support these results, as indicated in the opening quotation. All four companies became oriented on short-term financial performance following the stock exchange listing, and their top management experienced demanding external, capital-market-induced pressures. As the CEO in one company put it: “We had much stronger focus on internal processes when we were private. As a services company, we need to optimize the processes, and this received a great deal of top management attention. Now that we are on the stock exchange, our focus is more on the financial performance, which of course was also important before. But not in the same way as it is now, on the stock exchange.” Similarly, when describing the situation one year after the IPO, a CFO in another company stated: “We believe that, for the sales force, numbers are important, productivity is important and that is what we used internally. We looked at those every month, every day sometimes, for example, the number of recruits we got in. But now that we are on the stock exchange, the focus for us, the top management, is much more financial and short-term in terms of profits, margins and cash flow.”
In order to pass this ‘acid test’, the company's manufacturing strategy was constantly being revised. Bottom-line profitability was improved by squeezing costs through divestment, outsourcing and rationalization (Ezzamel et al., 2008). Similarly, based on case studies of General Electric, Ford and GlaxoSmithKline, Froud et al. (2006) found that growing pressure from the capital market had redefined company strategy. The general strategic problem for the large quoted firms was delivering the appropriate financial numbers, accompanied by a narrative of strategic intent to support it.
Our findings support these results, as indicated in the opening quotation. All four companies became oriented on short-term financial performance following the stock exchange listing, and their top management experienced demanding external, capital-market-induced pressures. As the CEO in one company put it: “We had much stronger focus on internal processes when we were private. As a services company, we need to optimize the processes, and this received a great deal of top management attention. Now that we are on the stock exchange, our focus is more on the financial performance, which of course was also important before. But not in the same way as it is now, on the stock exchange.” Similarly, when describing the situation one year after the IPO, a CFO in another company stated: “We believe that, for the sales force, numbers are important, productivity is important and that is what we used internally. We looked at those every month, every day sometimes, for example, the number of recruits we got in. But now that we are on the stock exchange, the focus for us, the top management, is much more financial and short-term in terms of profits, margins and cash flow.”
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