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Deal or No Deal: Hormones and the Mergers and Acquisitions Game

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  • Maurice Levi

    (Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z2, Canada)

  • Kai Li

    (Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z2, Canada)

  • Feng Zhang

    (Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z2, Canada)

Abstract

Young male CEOs appear to be combative: they are 4% more likely to be acquisitive and, having initiated an acquisition, they are over 20% more likely to withdraw an offer. Furthermore, a young target male CEO is 2% more likely to force a bidder to resort to a tender offer. We argue that this combative nature is a result of testosterone levels that are higher in young males. Testosterone, a hormone associated with male dominance seeking, has been shown to influence prospects for a cooperative outcome of the ultimatum game. Specifically, high-testosterone responders tend to reject low offers even though this is against their interest. It has been argued that this is consistent with a low offer being seen as dominance seeking. The acts of attempting or resisting an acquisition can be viewed as striving to achieve dominance. We argue that the evidence reported in this paper is consistent with the presence of a significant hormone effect in mergers and acquisitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Maurice Levi & Kai Li & Feng Zhang, 2010. "Deal or No Deal: Hormones and the Mergers and Acquisitions Game," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(9), pages 1462-1483, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:56:y:2010:i:9:p:1462-1483
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.1100.1206
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    3. Dowling, Michael & Aribi, Zakaria Ali, 2013. "Female directors and UK company acquisitiveness," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 79-86.
    4. Levi, Maurice & Li, Kai & Zhang, Feng, 2014. "Director gender and mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 185-200.
    5. Dai, Yun & Gryglewicz, Sebastian & Smit, Han T.J. & De Maeseneire, Wouter, 2013. "Similar bidders in takeover contests," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 544-561.
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    8. Nikolai Roussanov & Pavel G. Savor, 2012. "Status, Marriage, and Managers' Attitudes To Risk," NBER Working Papers 17904, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. David Newton & Mikhail Simutin, 2015. "Of Age, Sex, and Money: Insights from Corporate Officer Compensation on the Wage Inequality Between Genders," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(10), pages 2355-2375, October.
    10. Wen Shi & Xiaogang Bi & Agyenim Boateng & Shuai Yuan, 2023. "Chairperson (CEO) facial structure and risky investments: evidence from Chinese acquisitions," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 1177-1205, November.
    11. García Lara, Juan Manuel & García Osma, Beatriz & Mora, Araceli & Scapin, Mariano, 2017. "The monitoring role of female directors over accounting quality," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 651-668.
    12. Ming-Hua Liu & Shaohua Tian & Yang Zhang, 2023. "CEO marital status and corporate tax planning behavior," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 1207-1242, November.
    13. Feng, Yun & Liu, Chelsea & Yawson, Alfred, 2023. "Economic shocks, M&A advisors, and industry takeover activity," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    14. Byun, Kyung-Ah (Kay) & Al-Shammari, Marwan, 2021. "When narcissistic CEOs meet power: Effects of CEO narcissism and power on the likelihood of product recalls in consumer-packaged goods," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 45-60.
    15. Amos Nadler & Peiran Jiao & Cameron J. Johnson & Veronika Alexander & Paul J. Zak, 2019. "The Bull of Wall Street: Experimental Analysis of Testosterone and Asset Trading," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(9), pages 4032-4051, September.
    16. Banerjee, Suman & Humphery-Jenner, Mark & Nanda, Vikram, 2018. "Does CEO bias escalate repurchase activity?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 105-126.
    17. Wan, Liangyong & Ren, Liuyang & Lin, Bingxuan & Xu, Xiaowei, 2021. "Does investment banker human capital matter in acquisitions? Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    18. Arun Upadhyay & Hongchao Zeng, 2017. "Cash holdings and the bargaining power of R&D-intensive targets," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 885-923, November.
    19. Li, Xiaoyang & Low, Angie & Makhija, Anil K., 2011. "Career Concerns and the Busy Life of the Young CEO," Working Paper Series 2011-4, Ohio State University, Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics.
    20. Liao, Shushu & Nguyen, Nhut H. & Truong, Cameron, 2024. "Does CEO extraversion pay off when in need? Evidence from the global financial crisis," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(4).
    21. Agha, Mahmoud & Pramathevan, Shivani, 2023. "Executive gender, age, and corporate financial decisions and performance: The role of overconfidence," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    22. Maurice Levi & Kai Li & Feng Zhang, 2015. "Are Women More Likely to Seek Advice than Men? Evidence from the Boardroom," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-23, February.
    23. Faccio, Mara & Marchica, Maria-Teresa & Mura, Roberto, 2016. "CEO gender, corporate risk-taking, and the efficiency of capital allocation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 193-209.
    24. Li, Xiaoyang & Low, Angie & Makhija, Anil K., 2017. "Career concerns and the busy life of the young CEO," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 88-109.
    25. Nikolai Roussanov & Pavel Savor, 2014. "Marriage and Managers' Attitudes to Risk," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(10), pages 2496-2508, October.

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