TITLE:
Should We Be Worried about the Increasing Foreign Ownership of UK Industries?
AUTHORS:
David Floyd, Barry Ardley, Sandhla Summan, Mizan Rahman, Dimitrios Vortelinos
KEYWORDS:
Corporate Strategy, Ownership, Contracting, UK Brands, Marketing
JOURNAL NAME:
Theoretical Economics Letters,
Vol.6 No.2,
April
11,
2016
ABSTRACT: Should
we be more concerned about the foreign ownership of UK Brands? Is Britain
making the most of its industrial brands? Much has been made of these questions
and the recent contracting out of nuclear energy to China. This is only one of
several examples of recent contracting out of activity. Indeed most rail
franchises are now foreign owned and most electricity providers are also from
mainland Europe. The process of selling off much industry has been taking place
in the UK for many years and it has now gone much further than merely selling
off the family silver. Recently in the House of Commons mention was made of the
time that has now arrived to sell the fixtures and fittings. This paper sets
out to explain the reasons why the UK has been willing to sell off many
historic firms and assesses the consequences of this for future generations. The
paper draws on theories of international marketing, corporate strategy and
production to help explain the relevant thinking behind current policies. It
also draws on case examples, relevant theory and data, in order to provide
further evidence for future policy making, arguing that it still vitally
important for the UK to undertake the strategic stewardship of its remaining
brands.