In this paper, I review the literature on the motivations for corporate mergers and acquisitions. I first introduce the main definitions and some relevant empirical studies in the field. Secondly, I study the historical evolution of the mergers and acquisition activity in the United States, explaining the environment in which they took place. I then explain the theoretical motivations for merge...

This paper explores the impact of cross-border M&As on host economies of Korea ; China; and Hong Kong, China. For an intensive analytical research on this topic, this paper presents a comprehensive framework for analyzing the various impacts of cross-border M&As on the competitiveness of the host economies. We apply this framework to the data from five outstanding and considerable cases of each...

Rapid technological changes, shortened product life cycle, limited resources, and increasingly intensive competition have forced many companies to source and develop their technology and innovation capability quickly and externally. “Successful organizations are constantly seeking ways to foster innovation and new product or service development” (Kennedy, Payne, & Whitehead, 2002, p.149), espec...

We examine theoretically and empirically the determinants of the degree of complementarity between bidders and targets in mergers and acquisitions. Our paper extends existing literature, which demonstrates that firms that have stronger complementarities are more likely to become merger partners, by addressing the heterogeneity in bidders’ and targets’ complementarity in observed acquisitions. O...

This paper uses a unique data set of linked employer-employee data in which asset transfers between firms can be identified to study the manner in which employment policy changes in the aftermath of a merger or acquisition (M&A). Using parametric duration models with unobserved heterogeneity and modeling the status of the employer with respect to M&A activity, it appear that the employment poli...

By combining two large data sets (on international trade flows and cross-border mergers and acquisitions – M&As), we test two implications of Neary’s (2003, 2007) general oligopolistic equilibrium (GOLE) model (incorporating strategic interaction between firms in a general equilibrium setting). In terms of economic importance, the dominant merger wave variable is a positive global-all effect, i...