Patterns of Interpretation about Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers in German Management

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Recently, knowledge has become much debated in economic geography. New ideas came up with the discussion about the social construction of reality. This contribution suggests patterns of interpretation as a new and additional perspective for economic geography by discussing the seminal concept of Ulrich Oevermann. Oevermann understands patterns of interpretation as cultural or social structures. In a broader sense, they can be understood as commonly shared interpretations in a community, too. In the empirical part, the focus is on patterns of interpretation of managers if a foreign firm takes over their company, or buys controlling shares. The methodology is twofold: At first, patterns of interpretation are analyzed by qualitative content analysis. Then, the patterns of interpretation are analyzed by the approach of objective hermeneutics following Ulrich Oevermann. Comparing both epistemological and methodological implications, the project tries to evaluate both ways of understanding patterns of interpretation.