IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/intman/v28y2022i4s1075425322000175.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cross-border M&As: The impact of cultural friction and CEO change on the performance of acquired companies

Author

Listed:
  • Campagnolo, Diego
  • Vincenti, Giampiero

Abstract

This study analyzes the impact of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on the performance of target firms. Based on institutional theory, we hypothesize that performance deteriorates because of a lack of legitimacy, particularly when there is friction between the two national cultures and a higher risk of clashes between organizational cultures. We test our assumptions using an original dataset to compare the performance of Italian firms involved in inward cross-border M&As with that of continuing local firms that have a similar ex-ante likelihood of being merged or acquired. We apply coarsened exact matching (CEM) to establish the control group and a difference-in-differences (DID) approach to account for the possibility that target companies produce superior results simply because foreign investors “cherry-pick” the best-performing firms. Contrary to predictions, we find that foreign ownership does not deteriorate growth but enhances the profitability of target firms compared to purely domestic companies. In addition, we illustrate that the latter result remains applicable when cultural frictions between national cultures are high and when the CEO of the target company is replaced or joined by a new CEO after the deal.

Suggested Citation

  • Campagnolo, Diego & Vincenti, Giampiero, 2022. "Cross-border M&As: The impact of cultural friction and CEO change on the performance of acquired companies," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:intman:v:28:y:2022:i:4:s1075425322000175
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2022.100942
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1075425322000175
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intman.2022.100942?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rabbiosi, Larissa & Gregorič, Aleksandra & Stucchi, Tamara, 2019. "Diaspora Ownership and Homeland Firms' Internationalization," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 1-1.
    2. Maurizio Zollo & Harbir Singh, 2004. "Deliberate learning in corporate acquisitions: post‐acquisition strategies and integration capability in U.S. bank mergers," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(13), pages 1233-1256, December.
    3. Bamiatzi, Vassiliki & Efthyvoulou, Georgios & Jabbour, Liza, 2017. "Foreign vs domestic ownership on debt reduction: An investigation of acquisition targets in Italy and Spain," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 801-815.
    4. Hitt, Michael A. & Franklin, Victor & Zhu, Hong, 2006. "Culture, institutions and international strategy," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 222-234, June.
    5. Olivier Bertrand & Habib Zitouna, 2008. "Domestic versus cross-border acquisitions: which impact on the target firms' performance?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(17), pages 2221-2238.
    6. Anusha Chari & Wenjie Chen & Kathryn M E Dominguez, 2012. "Foreign Ownership and Firm Performance: Emerging Market Acquisitions in the United States," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 60(1), pages 1-42, April.
    7. Diego Campagnolo & Arnaldo Camuffo, 2011. "Globalization and Low-technology Industries: The Case of Italian Eyewear," Chapters, in: Paul L. Robertson & David Jacobson (ed.), Knowledge Transfer and Technology Diffusion, chapter 6, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Oded Shenkar, 2001. "Cultural Distance Revisited: Towards a More Rigorous Conceptualization and Measurement of Cultural Differences," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 32(3), pages 519-535, September.
    9. Arnaldo Camuffo, 2003. "Transforming Industrial Districts: Large Firms and Small Business Networks in the Italian Eyewear Industry," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 377-401.
    10. Bülent Aybar & Aysun Ficici, 2009. "Cross-border acquisitions and firm value: An analysis of emerging-market multinationals," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(8), pages 1317-1338, October.
    11. Jože Damijan & Črt Kostevc & Matija Rojec, 2015. "Growing Lemons or Cherries? Pre and Post-acquisition Performance of Foreign-Acquired Firms in New EU Member States," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 751-772, April.
    12. Chiara Bentivogli & Litterio Mirenda, 2017. "Foreign ownership and performance: evidence from a panel of Italian firms," IFC Bulletins chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), Uses of central balance sheet data offices' information, volume 45, Bank for International Settlements.
    13. Yildiz, H. Emre, 2014. "Not All Differences Are the Same: Dual Roles of Status and Cultural Distance in Sociocultural Integration in Cross-border M&As," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 25-37.
    14. Iacus, Stefano & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2009. "cem: Software for Coarsened Exact Matching," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 30(i09).
    15. Melissa E. Graebner & Koen H. Heimeriks & Quy N. Huy & Eero Vaara, 2017. "The Process of Postmerger Integration : A Review and Agenda for Future Research," Post-Print hal-02276670, HAL.
    16. Ephraim Kwashie Thompson & Changki Kim, 2020. "Post-M&A Performance and Failure: Implications of Time until Deal Completion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-31, April.
    17. Lucia Piscitello & Larissa Rabbiosi, 2005. "The impact of inward FDI on local companies' labour productivity: evidence from the Italian case," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 35-51.
    18. Schiffbauer, Marc & Siedschlag, Iulia & Ruane, Frances, 2017. "Do foreign mergers and acquisitions boost firm productivity?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 1124-1140.
    19. Patrik Karpaty, 2007. "Productivity Effects of Foreign Acquisitions in Swedish Manufacturing: The FDI Productivity Issue Revisited," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 241-260.
    20. Benfratello, Luigi & Sembenelli, Alessandro, 2006. "Foreign ownership and productivity: Is the direction of causality so obvious?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 733-751, July.
    21. Peter S Davis & Ashay B Desai & John D Francis, 2000. "Mode of International Entry: An Isomorphism Perspective," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 31(2), pages 239-258, June.
    22. Martin J. Conyon & Sourafel Girma & Steve Thompson & Peter W. Wright, 2002. "The productivity and wage effects of foreign acquisition in the United Kingdom," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 85-102, March.
    23. Matthias Arnold, Jens & Javorcik, Beata S., 2009. "Gifted kids or pushy parents? Foreign direct investment and plant productivity in Indonesia," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(1), pages 42-53, September.
    24. Basuil, Dynah A. & Datta, Deepak K., 2019. "Effects of Firm-specific and Country-specific Advantages on Relative Acquisition Size in Service Sector Cross-Border Acquisitions: An Empirical Examination," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 66-80.
    25. Simcha Ronen & Oded Shenkar, 2013. "Mapping world cultures: Cluster formation, sources and implications," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 44(9), pages 867-897, December.
    26. Buckley, Peter J. & Elia, Stefano & Kafouros, Mario, 2014. "Acquisitions by emerging market multinationals: Implications for firm performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 611-632.
    27. Peter J. Buckley & Stefano Elia & Mario Kafouros, 2014. "FDI from Emerging to Advanced Countries: Some Insights on the Acquisition Strategies and on the Performance of Target Firms," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Multinational Enterprise and the Emergence of the Global Factory, chapter 6, pages 137-153, Palgrave Macmillan.
    28. Sergio Salis, 2008. "Foreign Acquisition and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Slovenia," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(8), pages 1030-1048, August.
    29. Dikova, Desislava & Rao Sahib, Padma, 2013. "Is cultural distance a bane or a boon for cross-border acquisition performance?," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 77-86.
    30. Hema A. Krishnan & Alex Miller & William Q. Judge, 1997. "Diversification and top management team complementarity: is performance improved by merging similar or dissimilar teams?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(5), pages 361-374, May.
    31. Eero Vaara & Paulina Junni & Riikka M. Sarala & Mats Ehrnrooth & Alexei Koveshnikov, 2014. "Attributional tendencies in cultural explanations of M&A performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(9), pages 1302-1317, September.
    32. Jiatao Li & Stephen Guisinger, 1991. "Comparative Business Failures of Foreign-Controlled Firms in the United States," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 22(2), pages 209-224, June.
    33. Nocke, Volker & Yeaple, Stephen, 2007. "Cross-border mergers and acquisitions vs. greenfield foreign direct investment: The role of firm heterogeneity," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 336-365, July.
    34. Lim, Jongha & Makhija, Anil K. & Shenkar, Oded, 2016. "The asymmetric relationship between national cultural distance and target premiums in cross-border M&A," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 542-571.
    35. Sea-Jin Chang & Jaiho Chung & Jon Jungbien Moon, 2013. "When do foreign subsidiaries outperform local firms?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 44(8), pages 853-860, October.
    36. Kyoji Fukao & Keiko Ito & Hyeog Ug Kwon & Miho Takizawa, 2008. "Cross-Border Acquisitions and Target Firms' Performance: Evidence from Japanese Firm-Level Data," NBER Chapters, in: International Financial Issues in the Pacific Rim: Global Imbalances, Financial Liberalization, and Exchange Rate Policy, pages 347-389, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    37. Bruce Kogut & Harbir Singh, 1988. "The Effect of National Culture on the Choice of Entry Mode," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 19(3), pages 411-432, September.
    38. Dorte Kronborg & Steen Thomsen, 2009. "Foreign ownership and long‐term survival," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 207-219, February.
    39. Eero Vaara & Paulina Junni & Riikka M. Sarala & Mats Ehrnrooth & Alexei Koveshnikov, 2014. "Attributional Tendencies in Cultural Explanations of M&A Performance," Post-Print hal-02313178, HAL.
    40. Hopkins, H. Donald & Chaganti, Raj & Kotabe, Masaaki & Co-editors, 1999. "Cross-border mergers and acquisitions: Global and regional perspectives," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 207-239.
    41. Piero Morosini & Scott Shane & Harbir Singh, 1998. "National Cultural Distance and Cross-Border Acquisition Performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 29(1), pages 137-158, March.
    42. Krug, Jeffrey A. & Nigh, Douglas, 1998. "Top management departures in cross-border acquisitions: Governance issues in an international context," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 267-287, December.
    43. Luo, Yadong & Shenkar, Oded, 2011. "Toward a perspective of cultural friction in international business," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 1-14, March.
    44. Siedschlag Iulia & Kaitila Ville & McQuinn John & Zhang Xiaoheng, 2014. "International Investment and Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence from Small Open Economies," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 234(6), pages 662-687, December.
    45. Chikhouni, Abdulrahman & Edwards, Gwyneth & Farashahi, Mehdi, 2017. "Psychic distance and ownership in acquisitions: Direction matters," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 32-42.
    46. Wei, Tian & Clegg, Jeremy, 2014. "Successful integration of target firms in international acquisitions: A comparative study in the Medical Technology industry," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 237-255.
    47. Shimizu, Katsuhiko & Hitt, Michael A. & Vaidyanath, Deepa & Pisano, Vincenzo, 2004. "Theoretical foundations of cross-border mergers and acquisitions: A review of current research and recommendations for the future," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 307-353.
    48. Shawna O'Grady & Henry W Lane, 1996. "The Psychic Distance Paradox," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(2), pages 309-333, June.
    49. Iacus, Stefano M. & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2012. "Causal Inference without Balance Checking: Coarsened Exact Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, January.
    50. Peter J Buckley & Jeremy Clegg & Chengqi Wang, 2002. "The Impact of Inward FDI on the Performance of Chinese Manufacturing Firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(4), pages 637-655, December.
    51. Melissa E. Graebner & Koen H. Heimeriks & Quy N. Huy & Eero Vaara, 2017. "The Process of Postmerger Integration : A Review and Agenda for Future Research," Post-Print hal-02311973, HAL.
    52. Chen, Wenjie, 2011. "The effect of investor origin on firm performance: Domestic and foreign direct investment in the United States," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 219-228, March.
    53. Karen L Newman & Stanley D Nollen, 1996. "Culture and Congruence: The Fit Between Management Practices and national Culture," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(4), pages 753-779, December.
    54. Richard Harris & Catherine Robinson, 2003. "Foreign Ownership and Productivity in the United Kingdom Estimates for U.K. Manufacturing Using the ARD," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 22(3), pages 207-223, May.
    55. Chiara Bentivogli & Litterio Mirenda, 2017. "Foreign Ownership and Performance: Evidence from Italian Firms," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 251-273, September.
    56. Giacomo Becattini & Marco Bellandi & Gabi Dei Ottati & Fabio Sforzi, 2003. "From Industrial Districts to Local Development," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2884.
    57. Günter K. Stahl & Andreas Voigt, 2008. "Do Cultural Differences Matter in Mergers and Acquisitions? A Tentative Model and Examination," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(1), pages 160-176, February.
    58. Julia Bodner & Laurence Capron, 2018. "Post-merger integration," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 7(1), pages 1-20, December.
    59. Ito, Satoshi & Fujimura, Shuzo & Tamiya, Toshihiko, 2012. "Does cultural assimilation affect organizational decision-making on quality-related incidents? — A company's post-M&A experience," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 160-179.
    60. Philippe Very & Michael Lubatkin & Roland Calori & John Veiga, 1997. "Relative standing and the performance of recently acquired European firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(8), pages 593-614, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ye, Silin & Zhou, Jing & Jiang, Yunwen & Liu, Xiaming, 2023. "Managers as the bridge: How cultural friction influences the integration of cross-border mergers and acquisitions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Siedschlag Iulia & Kaitila Ville & McQuinn John & Zhang Xiaoheng, 2014. "International Investment and Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence from Small Open Economies," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 234(6), pages 662-687, December.
    2. Kokko Ari & Söderlund Bengt & Tingvall Patrik Gustavsson, 2014. "Redirecting International Trade: Contracts, Conflicts, and Institutions," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 234(6), pages 688-721, December.
    3. Schiffbauer, Marc & Siedschlag, Iulia & Ruane, Frances, 2017. "Do foreign mergers and acquisitions boost firm productivity?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 1124-1140.
    4. Ye, Silin & Zhou, Jing & Jiang, Yunwen & Liu, Xiaming, 2023. "Managers as the bridge: How cultural friction influences the integration of cross-border mergers and acquisitions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    5. Gada, Viswa Prasad & Goyal, Lakshmi & Popli, Manish, 2021. "Earnouts in M&A deal structuring: The impact of CEO prevention focus," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).
    6. Bauer, Florian & Matzler, Kurt & Wolf, Stefan, 2016. "M&A and innovation: The role of integration and cultural differences—A central European targets perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 76-86.
    7. Michela Matarazzo & Gabriele Barbaresco & Resciniti Riccardo, 2016. "Effects of cultural distance on foreign acquisitions: evidence from italian acquired firms," MERCATI & COMPETITIVIT?, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(3), pages 159-181.
    8. Wang, Daojuan & Hain, Daniel S. & Larimo, Jorma & Dao, Li T., 2020. "Cultural differences and synergy realization in cross-border acquisitions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(3).
    9. Boateng, Agyenim & Du, Min & Bi, XiaoGang & Lodorfos, George, 2019. "Cultural distance and value creation of cross-border M&A: The moderating role of acquirer characteristics," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 285-295.
    10. Fons-Rosen, Christian & Kalemli-Ozcan, Sebnem & Sørensen, Bent E. & Villegas-Sanchez, Carolina & Volosovych, Vadym, 2021. "Quantifying productivity gains from foreign investment," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    11. Wildmer Daniel Gregori & Maria Martinez Cillero & Michela Nardo, 2022. "The effects of cross-border acquisitions on firms’ productivity in the EU," Working Papers 2022.10, International Network for Economic Research - INFER.
    12. Valeria Gattai & Giorgia Sali, 2016. "FDI and heterogeneous performance of European enterprises," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 43(1), pages 25-65, March.
    13. Günter K. Stahl & Andreas Voigt, 2008. "Do Cultural Differences Matter in Mergers and Acquisitions? A Tentative Model and Examination," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(1), pages 160-176, February.
    14. Qing Liu & Ruosi Lu & Larry D. Qiu, 2017. "Foreign Acquisitions and Target Firms' Performance in China," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 2-20, January.
    15. Hitt, Michael A. & Li, Dan & Xu, Kai, 2016. "International strategy: From local to global and beyond," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 58-73.
    16. Liu, Qing & Lu, Ruosi & Zhang, Chao, 2015. "The labor market effect of foreign acquisitions: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 110-120.
    17. H Emre Yildiz & Carl F Fey, 2016. "Are the extent and effect of psychic distance perceptions symmetrical in cross-border M&As? Evidence from a two-country study," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(7), pages 830-857, September.
    18. Joze P. Damijan & Crt Kostevc & Matija Rojec, 2012. "Growing lemons and cherries? Pre- and post-acquisition performance of foreign-acquired firms in new EU member states," LICOS Discussion Papers 31812, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    19. Popli, Manish & Akbar, Mohammad & Kumar, Vikas & Gaur, Ajai, 2016. "Reconceptualizing cultural distance: The role of cultural experience reserve in cross-border acquisitions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 404-412.
    20. Burger, Anže & Hogan, Teresa & Kotnik, Patricia & Rao, Sandeep & Sakinç, Mustafa Erdem, 2023. "Does acquisition lead to the growth of high-tech scale-ups? Evidence from Europe," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:intman:v:28:y:2022:i:4:s1075425322000175. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/601266/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.