International Acquisitions and Labor Productivity in Serbian Cement Industry

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Slađana Savović
Dušan Marković

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of international acquisitions on the productivity of acquired companies in the cement industry of the Republic of Serbia. We analyze the productivity of companies in the cement industry during the twenty-year period from 2000 to 2019. Acquisitions in the cement industry are one of the first international acquisitions realized in the Republic of Serbia. The multinational companies that took over the cement plants are from Switzerland, France and Greece. The paper analyzes the effects of international acquisitions on the productivity of acquired companies in the short and long term. The research results show that the productivity of all acquired companies improved both in the short term and in the long term after the acquisitions, with the largest productivity improvements being achieved in the short term. In addition, the research results show that Lafarge Serbia recorded the largest improvement in labor productivity, which, compared to other companies, optimized the number of employees and increased production volume.

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