Salvage Ethnography in the Financial Sector

A historical ethnography of banking practices during the merger of Halifax and Bank of Scotland. Provides insight into the 2008 economic crisis through review of the role of national identities, different styles and ethos of business, tension and unrest prevalent during the merger, and implications for future development within the organisation. -- .

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This book is based on ethnographic research from 2001-2, during Bank of Scotland's first year of merger with Halifax to form HBOS. The research is revisited from the present perspective in the wake of the global banking and financial crisis that undermined HBOS in 2008. This historical perspective on the ethnographic data is used to explore: people's responses to the pressures of heightened competition and organisational change; mutual and sometimes antagonistic perceptions of Scottish and English identities across the two merged banks; conflicting evaluations of national and organisational cultures; and the challenges of integrating ethnographic and historical perspectives in a single study. As an historical ethnography it 'salvages' a disappearing culture of Scottish and UK banking, disintegrated by neoliberal processes. -- .