IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/kob/dpaper/dp2020-03.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Formal Institutional Uncertainty and Equity Sought on Foreign Market Entry: Does Industry Matter?

Author

Listed:
  • Kashif Ahmed

    (Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University, JAPAN)

  • Ralf Bebenroth

    (Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University, JAPAN)

  • Jean-Francois Hennart

    (Department of Management, Tilburg University, Vienna University of Economics and Business, and Politecnico di Milano)

Abstract

This study examines how the effect of host country formal institutional uncertainty on the percentage of equity sought in cross border acquisitions is moderated by the host country industry (i.e. targets from the technology versus those from the non-technology industry). This study is based upon the legitimacy perspective of institutional theory and employs Tobit regression analysis on a sample of 1340 cross-border acquisitions. Results show that cross-border acquirers prefer a lower equity level for targets in institutionally less developed countries, and that this negative effect of host country institutional risk on the equity percentage sought is more pronounced for technology-based targets. This study shows that the industry selected has a bearing on equity sought in cross-border acquisitions. Investing in institutionally less developed countries is particularly challenging when the targets of acquisition are in the technology industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Kashif Ahmed & Ralf Bebenroth & Jean-Francois Hennart, 2020. "Formal Institutional Uncertainty and Equity Sought on Foreign Market Entry: Does Industry Matter?," Discussion Paper Series DP2020-03, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    • Handle: RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2020-03
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rieb.kobe-u.ac.jp/academic/ra/dp/English/DP2020-03.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2020
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Douglas Dow & Ilya R P Cuypers & Gokhan Ertug, 2016. "The effects of within-country linguistic and religious diversity on foreign acquisitions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(3), pages 319-346, April.
    2. Desislava Dikova & Padma Rao Sahib & Arjen van Witteloostuijn, 2010. "Cross-border acquisition abandonment and completion: The effect of institutional differences and organizational learning in the international business service industry, 1981–2001," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(2), pages 223-245, February.
    3. Kashif Ahmed & Ralf Bebenroth, 2019. "Acquisition Behavior Of Emerging Versus Developed Market Multinationals," Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, Faculty of Economics, Vilnius University, vol. 10(1).
    4. Wafa Tariq Waqar, 2020. "Board size and acquisition outcome: The moderating role of home country formal institutional development," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(4), pages 529-541, June.
    5. Robert K. Perrons & Ken Platts, 2005. "Make-buy decisions in the face of technological change: does industry clockspeed matter?," International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(1), pages 1-11.
    6. Lerong He & Rong Yang, 2014. "Does Industry Regulation Matter? New Evidence on Audit Committees and Earnings Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(4), pages 573-589, September.
    7. Snejina Michailova & Siah Hwee Ang, 2008. "Institutional Explanations of Cross-border Alliance Modes: The Case of Emerging Economies Firms," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 48(5), pages 551-576, November.
    8. Chyan Yang & Yau-De Wang & Han-Jen Niu, 2007. "Does Industry Matter in Attributing Organizational Learning to its Performance?: Evidence from the Taiwanese Economy," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 547-563, October.
    9. Dang, Man & Henry, Darren, 2016. "Partial-control versus full-control acquisitions: Does target corporate governance matter? Evidence from eight East and Southeast Asian countries," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(PB), pages 251-265.
    10. Ilhan-Nas, Tulay & Okan, Tarhan & Tatoglu, Ekrem & Demirbag, Mehmet & Wood, Geoffrey & Glaister, Keith W., 2018. "Board composition, family ownership, institutional distance and the foreign equity ownership strategies of Turkish MNEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 862-879.
    11. Grazia D Santangelo & Klaus E Meyer, 2011. "Extending the internationalization process model: Increases and decreases of MNE commitment in emerging economies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 42(7), pages 894-909, September.
    12. David R. King & Rebecca J. Slotegraaf & Idalene Kesner, 2008. "Performance Implications of Firm Resource Interactions in the Acquisition of R&D-Intensive Firms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(2), pages 327-340, April.
    13. Naoki Ando, 2012. "The ownership structure of foreign subsidiaries and the effect of institutional distance: a case study of Japanese firms," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 259-274, April.
    14. Demirbag, Mehmet & Glaister, Keith W. & Tatoglu, Ekrem, 2007. "Institutional and transaction cost influences on MNEs' ownership strategies of their affiliates: Evidence from an emerging market," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 418-434, December.
    15. Hernández, Virginia & Nieto, María Jesús, 2015. "The effect of the magnitude and direction of institutional distance on the choice of international entry modes," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 122-132.
    16. Konshik Kim, 2018. "DIMINISHING RETURNS TO R&D INVESTMENT ON INNOVATION IN MANUFACTURING SMEs: DO THE TECHNOLOGICAL INTENSITY OF INDUSTRY MATTER?," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(07), pages 1-27, October.
    17. Lahiri, Somnath & Elango, B. & Kundu, Sumit K., 2014. "Cross-border acquisition in services: Comparing ownership choice of developed and emerging economy MNEs in India," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 409-420.
    18. Lin Cui & Fuming Jiang, 2012. "State ownership effect on firms' FDI ownership decisions under institutional pressure: a study of Chinese outward-investing firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(3), pages 264-284, April.
    19. 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.
    20. Daphne Yiu & Shige Makino, 2002. "The Choice Between Joint Venture and Wholly Owned Subsidiary: An Institutional Perspective," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(6), pages 667-683, December.
    21. John Hagedoorn & Geert Duysters, 2002. "External Sources of Innovative Capabilities: The Preferences for Strategic Alliances or Mergers and Acquisitions," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(2), pages 167-188, March.
    22. Steven Globerman & Daniel Shapiro, 2009. "Economic and strategic considerations surrounding Chinese FDI in the United States," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 163-183, March.
    23. Mike W Peng & Denis Y L Wang & Yi Jiang, 2008. "An institution-based view of international business strategy: a focus on emerging economies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(5), pages 920-936, July.
    24. Ilhan-Nas, Tulay & Okan, Tarhan & Tatoglu, Ekrem & Demirbag, Mehmet & Glaister, Keith W., 2018. "The effects of ownership concentration and institutional distance on the foreign entry ownership strategy of Turkish MNEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 173-183.
    25. Kenneth Merkley & Roni Michaely & Joseph Pacelli, 2017. "Does the Scope of the Sell-Side Analyst Industry Matter? An Examination of Bias, Accuracy, and Information Content of Analyst Reports," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(3), pages 1285-1334, June.
    26. Siah Hwee Ang & Mirko H. Benischke & Jonathan P. Doh, 2015. "The interactions of institutions on foreign market entry mode," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(10), pages 1536-1553, October.
    27. 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.
    28. Sergio Mariotti & Lucia Piscitello & Stefano Elia, 2014. "Local Externalities and Ownership Choices in Foreign Acquisitions by Multinational Enterprises," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 90(2), pages 187-211, April.
    29. Jorge Walter & Christoph Lechner & Franz W. Kellermanns, 2008. "Disentangling Alliance Management Processes: Decision Making, Politicality, and Alliance Performance," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 530-560, May.
    30. Chen, Shih-Fen S. & Hennart, Jean-Francois, 2004. "A hostage theory of joint ventures: why do Japanese investors choose partial over full acquisitions to enter the United States?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(10), pages 1126-1134, October.
    31. Andrew Delios & Paul W. Beamish, 1999. "Ownership strategy of Japanese firms: transactional, institutional, and experience influences," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(10), pages 915-933, October.
    32. Klaus E. Meyer & Saul Estrin & Sumon Kumar Bhaumik & Mike W. Peng, 2009. "Institutions, resources, and entry strategies in emerging economies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 61-80, January.
    33. Yigang Pan, 2002. "Equity Ownership in International Joint Ventures: The Impact of Source Country Factors," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(2), pages 375-384, June.
    34. Deepak K. Datta & Xin Liang & Martina Musteen, 2009. "Strategic Orientation and the Choice of Foreign Market Entry Mode," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 269-290, June.
    35. Adrian S. Petrescu, 2009. "Science and Technology for Economic Growth. New Insights from when the Data Contradicts Desktop Models1," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 26(6), pages 839-880, November.
    36. Christian Schwens & Julia Eiche & Ruediger Kabst, 2011. "The Moderating Impact of Informal Institutional Distance and Formal Institutional Risk on SME Entry Mode Choice," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 330-351, March.
    37. Liou, Ru-Shiun & Chao, Mike Chen-Ho & Yang, Monica, 2016. "Emerging economies and institutional quality: Assessing the differential effects of institutional distances on ownership strategy," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 600-611.
    38. Jeffrey J. Reuer & Mitchell P. Koza, 2000. "Asymmetric information and joint venture performance: theory and evidence for domestic and international joint ventures," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 81-88, January.
    39. Shih-Fen S Chen, 2008. "The motives for international acquisitions: capability procurements, strategic considerations, and the role of ownership structures," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(3), pages 454-471, April.
    40. Ilya RP Cuypers & Xavier Martin, 2010. "What makes and what does not make a real option? A study of equity shares in international joint ventures," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(1), pages 47-69, January.
    41. Murali DR Chari & Kiyoung Chang, 2009. "Determinants of the share of equity sought in cross-border acquisitions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(8), pages 1277-1297, October.
    42. Weerawardena, Jay & O'Cass, Aron & Julian, Craig, 2006. "Does industry matter? Examining the role of industry structure and organizational learning in innovation and brand performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 37-45, January.
    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. Preuss, Lutz & Vazquez-Brust, Diego & Yakovleva, Natalia & Foroughi, Hamid & Mutti, Diana, 2022. "When social movements close institutional voids: Triggers, processes, and consequences for multinational enterprises," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(1).
    2. Jeoung Yul Lee & Young Soo Yang & Pervez N. Ghauri, 2023. "E-commerce Policy Environment, Digital Platform, and Internationalization of Chinese New Ventures: The Moderating Effects of Covid-19 Pandemic," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 63(1), pages 57-90, February.
    3. Ralf Bebenroth & Robert A. Goehlich, 2021. "Necessity to integrate operational business during M&A: the effect of employees’ vision and cultural openness," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(8), pages 1-17, August.

    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. Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele & Peprah, Augustine Awuah & Amartey, Abednego Okoe & Rajwani, Tazeeb, 2020. "Institutional voids and firms' resource commitment in emerging markets: A review and future research agenda," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(3).
    2. Ilhan-Nas, Tulay & Okan, Tarhan & Tatoglu, Ekrem & Demirbag, Mehmet & Wood, Geoffrey & Glaister, Keith W., 2018. "Board composition, family ownership, institutional distance and the foreign equity ownership strategies of Turkish MNEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 862-879.
    3. Lahiri, Somnath & Elango, B. & Kundu, Sumit K., 2014. "Cross-border acquisition in services: Comparing ownership choice of developed and emerging economy MNEs in India," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 409-420.
    4. Liou, Ru-Shiun & Chao, Mike Chen-Ho & Yang, Monica, 2016. "Emerging economies and institutional quality: Assessing the differential effects of institutional distances on ownership strategy," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 600-611.
    5. Xie, En & Reddy, K.S. & Liang, Jie, 2017. "Country-specific determinants of cross-border mergers and acquisitions: A comprehensive review and future research directions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 127-183.
    6. Kedia, Ben L. & Bilgili, Tsvetomira V., 2015. "When history matters: The effect of historical ties on the relationship between institutional distance and shares acquired," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 921-934.
    7. Fuentelsaz, Lucio & Garrido, Elisabet & González, Minerva, 2020. "Ownership in cross-border acquisitions and entry timing of the target firm," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(2).
    8. Trąpczyński, Piotr & Halaszovich, Tilo F. & Piaskowska, Dorota, 2020. "The role of perceived institutional distance in foreign ownership level decisions of new MNEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 435-449.
    9. Shyaam Prasadh & M. Thenmozhi & May Hu, 2020. "Does economic freedom distance affect long-run post-acquisition performance and ownership level in cross-border acquisitions?," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 47(2), pages 191-213, June.
    10. Xu, Kai & Hitt, Michael A. & Brock, David & Pisano, Vincenzo & Huang, Lulu S.R., 2021. "Country institutional environments and international strategy: A review and analysis of the research," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).
    11. Wang, Yi & Larimo, Jorma, 2020. "Survival of full versus partial acquisitions: The moderating role of firm’s internationalization experience, cultural distance, and host country context characteristics," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(1).
    12. Rekha Rao-Nicholson & Liudmyla Svystunova, 2020. "Assessing the Role of Host Country Human Rights Protection on Multinational Enterprises’ Choice of Investment Strategy," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 177-209, April.
    13. Tatiana Kostova & Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & W. Richard Scott & Vincent E. Kunst & Chei Hwee Chua & Marc Essen, 2020. "The construct of institutional distance through the lens of different institutional perspectives: Review, analysis, and recommendations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(4), pages 467-497, June.
    14. Vittoria G. Scalera & Debmalya Mukherjee & Lucia Piscitello, 2020. "Ownership strategies in knowledge-intensive cross-border acquisitions: Comparing Chinese and Indian MNEs," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 155-185, March.
    15. Chenxi Wan & Carlos M. P. Sousa & Jorge Lengler & Qun Tan, 2023. "Entry Mode Choice: A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents and Outcomes," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 193-246, April.
    16. Hernández, Virginia & Nieto, María Jesús, 2015. "The effect of the magnitude and direction of institutional distance on the choice of international entry modes," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 122-132.
    17. Cho, Hyejin & Ahn, He Soung, 2017. "Stock payment and the effects of institutional and cultural differences: A study of shareholder value creation in cross-border M&As," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 461-475.
    18. Christian Falaster & Manuel Portugal Ferreira & Dan Li, 2021. "The influence of generalized and arbitrary institutional inefficiencies on the ownership decision in cross-border acquisitions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(9), pages 1724-1749, December.
    19. Cui, Lin & He, Xiaoming, 2017. "Expanding near the home base or venture far? The influence of home country state on the economic distance of foreign direct investments," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 95-107.
    20. Liou, Ru-Shiun & Faifman, Leon & Ellis, Kimberly, 2023. "Navigating political risk: Protectionism and ownership strategy in cross-border M&As," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 162(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:kob:dpaper:dp2020-03. 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: Office of Promoting Research Collaboration, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rikobjp.html .

    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.