David R. King – författare

The process of identifying and evaluating a target firm, completing a deal after its negotiation and announcement, and then integrating a target firm after legal combination is a multi-year process with uncertain returns to acquiring firms. Research on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) is progressing rapidly yet it remains fragmented across multiple research perspectives that largely examine different acquisition phases separately and coincide with a focus on different research variables. As a result, research fragmentation means that a researcher in one area may be unaware of research from related areas that is likely relevant. This contributes to research silos with M&A research displaying different traditions, starting points, and assumptions.

Mergers and Acquisitions: A Research Overview summarizes the frontier in M&A research and provides insights into where it can be expanded. It undertakes the needed integration and reconciliation of research in order to derive practical knowledge for managing acquisitions from beginning to end, providing a summary of what is known and its implications for future research.

This concise overview reconciles and integrates the state of the art in our understanding of mergers and acquisitions, providing an essential first stopping point in the research journey of students and scholars working in this area.

The process of identifying and evaluating a target firm, completing a deal after its negotiation and announcement, and then integrating a target firm after legal combination is a multi-year process with uncertain returns to acquiring firms. Research on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) is progressing rapidly yet it remains fragmented across multiple research perspectives that largely examine different acquisition phases separately and coincide with a focus on different research variables. As a result, research fragmentation means that a researcher in one area may be unaware of research from related areas that is likely relevant. This contributes to research silos with M&A research displaying different traditions, starting points, and assumptions.

Mergers and Acquisitions: A Research Overview summarizes the frontier in M&A research and provides insights into where it can be expanded. It undertakes the needed integration and reconciliation of research in order to derive practical knowledge for managing acquisitions from beginning to end, providing a summary of what is known and its implications for future research.

This concise overview reconciles and integrates the state of the art in our understanding of mergers and acquisitions, providing an essential first stopping point in the research journey of students and scholars working in this area.

Corporate restructuring (acquisitions, alliances and divestment) is a visible form of corporate strategy. For example, firm investments in buying and selling assets exceed the gross domestic product of the majority of nations. Most research in this area examines acquisitions, but informing practice is limited by examining acquisitions in isolation or using a narrow focus. For example, a lingering problem is that average acquisition performance is consistently around zero, suggesting a need to identify practically relevant relationships.

In addressing this need, research on three fundamental questions is covered: 1) How do acquisitions relate to other corporate strategy options?; 2) What helps to predict acquisition performance?; and 3) What are persistent acquisition research issues? The first question is intended to overcome a research limitation that acquisitions are often examined independent of other corporate strategies, including internal development, alliances, and divestment. The second question addresses novel relationships associated with the primary focus of acquisition research in examining what drives acquisition performance. The third question reflects on the underlying complexity of the phenomenon that makes it a challenge to identify what drives acquisition performance. Overall, the intent of presenting ideas on these fundamental questions is to illustrate promising areas for future research.

This book presents the latest state of knowledge on the topic and will be of interest to researchers, academics, and advanced students in the fields of strategic management, international business, and organizational studies.

Corporate restructuring (acquisitions, alliances and divestment) is a visible form of corporate strategy. For example, firm investments in buying and selling assets exceed the gross domestic product of the majority of nations. Most research in this area examines acquisitions, but informing practice is limited by examining acquisitions in isolation or using a narrow focus. For example, a lingering problem is that average acquisition performance is consistently around zero, suggesting a need to identify practically relevant relationships.

In addressing this need, research on three fundamental questions is covered: 1) How do acquisitions relate to other corporate strategy options?; 2) What helps to predict acquisition performance?; and 3) What are persistent acquisition research issues? The first question is intended to overcome a research limitation that acquisitions are often examined independent of other corporate strategies, including internal development, alliances, and divestment. The second question addresses novel relationships associated with the primary focus of acquisition research in examining what drives acquisition performance. The third question reflects on the underlying complexity of the phenomenon that makes it a challenge to identify what drives acquisition performance. Overall, the intent of presenting ideas on these fundamental questions is to illustrate promising areas for future research.

This book presents the latest state of knowledge on the topic and will be of interest to researchers, academics, and advanced students in the fields of strategic management, international business, and organizational studies.

This Research Agenda poses unique questions and perspectives on how to generate impactful research on mergers and acquisitions. Bringing together a mix of established and emerging scholars, it outlines how future research in the field can enable managers to make better decisions and improve mergers and acquisition success.

Focusing on new areas of investigation, the Research Agenda provides conceptual, quantitative and qualitative insights into: pre-merger uncertainty, executive decision-making, network relationships and actors, and project management. It highlights the complex and heterogeneous nature of acquisitions, and the many actors impacted by them. Contributing authors present key strategies to avoid stagnation in mergers and acquisitions research by rethinking constructs, identifying neglected and novel areas of investigation, and developing new theoretical perspectives. For example, it argues for a deeper understanding of acquisitions beyond their impacts on the financial performance of firms to consider additional outcomes.

A Research Agenda for Mergers and Acquisitions is an important resource for academics and doctoral students in accounting, economics, finance and management. It is also a useful guide for corporate restructuring consultants seeking further insight into the field.