Life After Privatization - Tapa dura

Charis book is effective in logically guiding the reader through the gap that exists in the literature between privatisation and M&A. His use of signposting and consistent use of summaries ensure that the book is easy to follow. (Barry Solaiman, Political Studies Review)

This is an excellent guide to the complex financial machinations of the growing number of businesses with interests in global sets of assets. The focus is on enterprises formerly in state ownership and subsequently privatized. Detailed case studies of airlines, automobiles and electricity form the three core chapters of the book supplemented by useful introductions and conclusions. (Robert Millward, University of Manchester, Public Administration)

Life After Privatization offers a refreshing and original theoretical conceptualization of what happened to stateowned enterprises after they were privatized from the late 1970s onwards.
Some privatized firms have become todays European and global giants, Alphas, merging with or acquiring other firms, whereas other firms, Betas, have been taken over by Alphas or other sectoral leaders. The book raises questions such as which privatized firms in the airline, automobile, and the electricity sectors in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain are Alphas and Betas today? And why? Building on a variety of themes from both Political Science and Business Studies, it considers a comprehensive set of explanations both internal and external to the firm, to analyse why a firm may become an Alpha or a Beta. The evidence shows that while internal factors are important, the more external, political, factors are necessary and sufficient to explain why a firm becomes an Alpha or a Beta. This includes the impact of liberalization, the roles of states, and the actions of regulators that are lobbied by firms.
Based on exhaustive evidence, Life After Privatization concludes with a novel inductive theory, which offers a significant step forward for social science scholars and practitioners understanding of the politics businesses face in global markets.