IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/joevec/v31y2021i1d10.1007_s00191-020-00678-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

New firm formation in the wake of mergers and acquisitions: An exploration of push and pull factors

Author

Listed:
  • Monia Lougui

    (The Ratio Institute)

  • Anders Broström

    (KTH Royal Institute of Technology)

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and entrepreneurial spawning in labour-intensive service sectors. We discuss two sets of theoretical mechanisms. First, M&As may push employees into entrepreneurship by lowering the average barriers of leaving the current employment (i.e. being associated with general deterioration of working conditions). Second, M&A activities may generate new entrepreneurial opportunities, which are first and foremost accessible by employees directly affected by M&As. Results on entrepreneurial spawning in 3,198 Swedish firms during the time period 2000–2009 confirm that the number of firms spawned from a specific incumbent increases following an M&A. Push-oriented factors are found to contribute to this effect, but a dominating part of the total effect remains in the presence of proxies for push-effects. This suggests that pull-oriented explanations of opportunity creation in the wake of M&As constitute an important avenue for further research on the antecedents of new firm formation.

Suggested Citation

  • Monia Lougui & Anders Broström, 2021. "New firm formation in the wake of mergers and acquisitions: An exploration of push and pull factors," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 65-89, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:joevec:v:31:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s00191-020-00678-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s00191-020-00678-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00191-020-00678-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00191-020-00678-4?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. Conyon, Martin J. & Girma, Sourafel & Thompson, Steve & Wright, Peter W., 2002. "The impact of mergers and acquisitions on company employment in the United Kingdom," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 31-49, January.
    2. Delmar, Frédéric & Wennberg, Karl & Hellerstedt, Karin, 2011. "Endogenous growth through knowledge spillovers in entrepreneurship: An empirical test," Ratio Working Papers 165, The Ratio Institute.
    3. Cassar, Gavin, 2006. "Entrepreneur opportunity costs and intended venture growth," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 610-632, September.
    4. Gugler, Klaus & Mueller, Dennis C. & Yurtoglu, B. Burcin & Zulehner, Christine, 2003. "The effects of mergers: an international comparison," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 625-653, May.
    5. Bruno Cassiman & Massimo G. Colombo (ed.), 2006. "Mergers and Acquisitions," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 4072.
    6. Schoenberg, Richard & Reeves, Richard, 1999. "What determines acquisition activity within an industry?," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 93-98, February.
    7. Pakes, Ariel & Nitzan, Shmuel, 1983. "Optimum Contracts for Research Personnel, Research Employment, and the Establishment of "Rival" Enterprises," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(4), pages 345-365, October.
    8. Pamela Adams & Roberto Fontana & Franco Malerba, 2019. "Linking vertically related industries: entry by employee spinouts across industry boundaries," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 28(3), pages 529-550.
    9. Bruno Cassiman & Masako Ueda, 2006. "Optimal Project Rejection and New Firm Start-ups," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(2), pages 262-275, February.
    10. Martin Andersson & Steven Klepper, 2013. "Characteristics and performance of new firms and spinoffs in Sweden," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(1), pages 245-280, February.
    11. Michel A. Habib & Ulrich Hege & Pierre Mella-Barral, 2013. "Entrepreneurial Spawning and Firm Characteristics," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(12), pages 2790-2804, December.
    12. Saras Sarasvathy & Nicholas Dew, 2005. "New market creation through transformation," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 15(5), pages 533-565, November.
    13. Guido Buenstorf, 2007. "Creation and Pursuit of Entrepreneurial Opportunities: An Evolutionary Economics Perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 28(4), pages 323-337, April.
    14. Ari Hyytinen & Pekka Ilmakunnas, 2007. "Entrepreneurial Aspirations: Another Form of Job Search?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 63-80, June.
    15. Capron, Laurence & Mitchell, Will, 1998. "The Role of Acquisitions in Reshaping Business Capabilities in the International Telecommunications Industry," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(4), pages 715-730, December.
    16. Yeganegi, Sepideh & Laplume, André O. & Dass, Parshotam & Huynh, Cam-Loi, 2016. "Where do spinouts come from? The role of technology relatedness and institutional context," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 1103-1112.
    17. Ashish Arora & Anand Nandkumar, 2011. "Cash-Out or Flameout! Opportunity Cost and Entrepreneurial Strategy: Theory, and Evidence from the Information Security Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(10), pages 1844-1860, October.
    18. Steven Klepper & Sally Sleeper, 2005. "Entry by Spinoffs," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 51(8), pages 1291-1306, August.
    19. April Mitchell Franco & Darren Filson, 2006. "Spin‐outs: knowledge diffusion through employee mobility," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 37(4), pages 841-860, December.
    20. Benjamin A. Campbell & Martin Ganco & April M. Franco & Rajshree Agarwal, 2012. "Who leaves, where to, and why worry? employee mobility, entrepreneurship and effects on source firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 65-87, January.
    21. April Mitchell Franco & Darren Filson, 2006. "Spin‐outs: knowledge diffusion through employee mobility," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 37(4), pages 841-860, December.
    22. Jesper B. Sørensen & Magali A. Fassiotto, 2011. "Organizations as Fonts of Entrepreneurship," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1322-1331, October.
    23. Cloodt, Myriam & Hagedoorn, John & Van Kranenburg, Hans, 2006. "Mergers and acquisitions: Their effect on the innovative performance of companies in high-tech industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 642-654, June.
    24. Paul Gompers & Josh Lerner & David Scharfstein, 2005. "Entrepreneurial Spawning: Public Corporations and the Genesis of New Ventures, 1986 to 1999," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(2), pages 577-614, April.
    25. Peter Thompson & Jing Chen, 2011. "Disagreements, employee spinoffs and the choice of technology," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 14(3), pages 455-474, July.
    26. Peter Berkhout & Joop Hartog & Mirjam van Praag, 2016. "Entrepreneurship and Financial Incentives of Return, Risk, and Skew," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(2), pages 249-268, March.
    27. Amit, Raphael & Muller, Eitan & Cockburn, Iain, 1995. "Opportunity costs and entrepreneurial activity," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 95-106, March.
    28. Bertrand, Olivier, 2009. "Effects of foreign acquisitions on R&D activity: Evidence from firm-level data for France," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 1021-1031, July.
    29. Andersson, Martin & Xiao, Jing, 2014. "Acquisitions of Start-ups by Incumbent Businesses A market selection process of “high-quality” entrants?," Papers in Innovation Studies 2014/19, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    30. Guido Buenstorf, 2017. "Schumpeterian Incumbents and Industry Evolution," Economic Complexity and Evolution, in: Andreas Pyka & Uwe Cantner (ed.), Foundations of Economic Change, pages 283-297, Springer.
    31. Ulrich Witt, 2002. "How Evolutionary Is Schumpeter'S Theory Of Economic Development?," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1-2), pages 7-22.
    32. Christensen, Clayton M., 1993. "The Rigid Disk Drive Industry: A History of Commercial and Technological Turbulence," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 67(4), pages 531-588, January.
    33. Annette L. Ranft & Michael D. Lord, 2002. "Acquiring New Technologies and Capabilities: A Grounded Model of Acquisition Implementation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(4), pages 420-441, August.
    34. Chastain, Clark E., 1987. "Divestiture: Antidote to merger mania," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 43-49.
    35. Alfonso Gambardella & Martin Ganco & Florence Honoré, 2015. "Using What You Know: Patented Knowledge in Incumbent Firms and Employee Entrepreneurship," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(2), pages 456-474, April.
    36. David J. Teece, 2003. "Expert talent and the design of (professional services) firms," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(4), pages 895-916, August.
    37. Romahn, André & Friberg, Richard, 2012. "Ex-Post Merger Review and Divestitures," IESE Research Papers D/1056, IESE Business School.
    38. Colin Mason & Richard Harrison, 2006. "After the exit: Acquisitions, entrepreneurial recycling and regional economic development," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(1), pages 55-73.
    39. Klepper, Steven & Thompson, Peter, 2010. "Disagreements and intra-industry spinoffs," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 526-538, September.
    40. Apostolos Baltzopoulos & Anders Brostr�m, 2013. "Attractors of Entrepreneurial Activity: Universities, Regions and Alumni Entrepreneurs," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(6), pages 934-949, June.
    41. Kaplan, Steven N & Weisbach, Michael S, 1992. "The Success of Acquisitions: Evidence from Divestitures," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(1), pages 107-138, March.
    42. Parker, Simon C, 2009. "Why do small firms produce the entrepreneurs?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 484-494, June.
    43. Steven Klepper, 2007. "Disagreements, Spinoffs, and the Evolution of Detroit as the Capital of the U.S. Automobile Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(4), pages 616-631, April.
    44. Andersson, Martin & Xiao, Jing, 2016. "Acquisitions of start-ups by incumbent businesses," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 272-290.
    45. 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.
    46. Lambrecht, Bart M., 2004. "The timing and terms of mergers motivated by economies of scale," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 41-62, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Lougui, Monia & Broström, Anders, 2016. "New firm formation in the wake of mergers and acquisitions: Are employees pushed or pulled into entrepreneurship?," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 427, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    2. Yeganegi, Sepideh & Laplume, André O. & Dass, Parshotam & Huynh, Cam-Loi, 2016. "Where do spinouts come from? The role of technology relatedness and institutional context," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 1103-1112.
    3. Criaco, Giuseppe & van Oosterhout, J. (Hans) & Nordqvist, Mattias, 2021. "Is blood always thicker than water? Family firm parents, kinship ties, and the survival of spawns," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(6).
    4. Fontana, Roberto & Zirulia, Lorenzo, 2023. "How far from the tree does the (good) apple fall? Spinout creation and the survival of high-tech firms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 26-49.
    5. Cristobal Cheyre & Steven Klepper & Francisco Veloso, 2015. "Spinoffs and the Mobility of U.S. Merchant Semiconductor Inventors," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(3), pages 487-506, March.
    6. Krasteva, Silvana & Sharma, Priyanka & Wagman, Liad, 2015. "The 80/20 rule: Corporate support for innovation by employees," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 32-43.
    7. Bahoo-Torodi, Aliasghar & Torrisi, Salvatore, 2022. "When do spinouts benefit from market overlap with parent firms?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(6).
    8. Mariko Sakakibara & Natarajan Balasubramanian, 2020. "Human capital, parent size, and the destination industry of spinouts," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(5), pages 815-840, May.
    9. Egle Vaznyte & Petra Andries & Sarah Demeulemeester, 2021. "“Don’t leave me this way!” Drivers of parental hostility and employee spin-offs’ performance," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 265-293, June.
    10. Fredriksen, Lars & Wennberg, Karl & Balachandran, Chanchal, 2015. "Mobility and Entrepreneurship: Evaluating the scope of knowledge-based theories of entrepreneurship," Ratio Working Papers 266, The Ratio Institute.
    11. Michel A. Habib & Ulrich Hege & Pierre Mella-Barral, 2013. "Entrepreneurial Spawning and Firm Characteristics," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(12), pages 2790-2804, December.
    12. Andrea Morrison, 2018. "Spinoffs, parents, and institutions: Evidence from the Italian motorcycle industry," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1840, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Nov 2018.
    13. Agarwal, Rajshree & Shah, Sonali K., 2014. "Knowledge sources of entrepreneurship: Firm formation by academic, user and employee innovators," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(7), pages 1109-1133.
    14. Johannes Dick & Katrin Hussinger & Boris Blumberg & John Hagedoorn, 2013. "Is success hereditary? Evidence on the performance of spawned ventures," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 911-931, May.
    15. Klepper, Steven & Thompson, Peter, 2010. "Disagreements and intra-industry spinoffs," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 526-538, September.
    16. Alfonso Gambardella & Martin Ganco & Florence Honoré, 2015. "Using What You Know: Patented Knowledge in Incumbent Firms and Employee Entrepreneurship," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(2), pages 456-474, April.
    17. Daniel Fackler & Claus Schnabel & Alexandra Schmucker, 2016. "Spinoffs in Germany: characteristics, survival, and the role of their parents," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 93-114, January.
    18. Ioannis Ioannou, 2014. "When Do Spinouts Enhance Parent Firm Performance? Evidence from the U.S. Automobile Industry, 1890–1986," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(2), pages 529-551, April.
    19. Natarajan Balasubramanian & Mariko Sakakibara, 2021. "Incidence and Performance of Spinouts and Incumbent New Ventures: Role of Selection and Redeployability within Parent Firms," Working Papers 21-27, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    20. Daniel Fackler & Claus Schnabel & Alexandra Schmucker, 2016. "Spinoffs in Germany: characteristics, survival, and the role of their parents," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 93-114, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    firm formation; entrepreneurial spawning; mergers; acquisitions; opportunity costs; entrepreneurial opportunity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M50 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - General
    • L80 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:spr:joevec:v:31:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s00191-020-00678-4. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.