The long-term value of M&A activity that enhances learning organisations

Viewing the automobile industry as being made up of independent learning-organisations may reveal some tie-ups that can generate value not easily revealed by traditional financial metrics. The key question to be answered when considering M&A activity between automakers from this perspective is how the formation of such a relationship (or its dissolution) may affect an automaker's organisational learning (e.g., the development of increasingly higher-performing organisational routines to shorten development lead times, improve a vehicle's overall customer satisfaction, improve the ease with which a vehicle can be assembled). We analyse three case studies to obtain insights into how M&A activity may be used to enhance the learning organisations of automakers. The first two cases, Renault-Nissan and Ford-Mazda, involve very significant but still minority equity stakes between Western and Japanese automakers. The third case, Chrysler-AMC, was a full acquisition involving two US firms.