IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0311045.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of serial mergers and acquisitions on enterprises’ total factor productivity: The mediating role of digital transformation

Author

Listed:
  • Liyan Tan
  • Xiaoxu Zhang
  • Yu Song
  • Fei Zou
  • Qiaoran Liao

Abstract

Research background: M&A (Mergers and acquisitions) is a strategic measure for enterprises to expand their scale, enhance their competitiveness and improve productivity in the market competition. As a new factor of production, data is changing the factor input model and value creation path of enterprises. Research objectives: From the perspective of serial M&A, this study explores the impact of serial M&A on enterprises’ TFP (total factor productivity) and the mechanism of digital transformation between them. Research methods: Take the serial M&A transactions of China’s A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2019 as samples, using the theory of organizational learning to analyze the relationship among serial M&A, enterprises’ TFP and the degree of digital transformation. Three-step regression is used to construct a model that serial M&A indirectly affects enterprises’ TFP through intermediary variable digital transformation. Research finding: There is a significant inverse U-shaped relationship between serial M&A and enterprises’ TFP, and digital transformation plays a mediating role in this relationship. The impact of serial M&A on enterprises’ TFP shows an upward trend at first and then a downward trend and this relationship is indirectly realized through digital transformation. The results are still valid after considering the change-explained variables, lag test, Sobel-Goodman test, and Bootstrap test. Heterogeneity analysis shows that for enterprises with non-state-owned property rights, smaller enterprise scale, and higher business environment index, serial M&A has a more obvious effect on TFP indirectly through the degree of digital transformation. Research value: It further enriches the existing literature on the decision-making of M&A from the perspective of serial M&A and profoundly reveals the mechanism of the degree of digital transformation in the relationship between serial M&A and enterprises’ TFP. The research provides theoretical support and empirical evidence for enterprises to achieve high-quality development.

Suggested Citation

  • Liyan Tan & Xiaoxu Zhang & Yu Song & Fei Zou & Qiaoran Liao, 2024. "The impact of serial mergers and acquisitions on enterprises’ total factor productivity: The mediating role of digital transformation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(11), pages 1-26, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0311045
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311045
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0311045
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0311045&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0311045?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Kroll & Peter Wright & Leslie Toombs & Hadley Leavell, 1997. "Form Of Control: A Critical Determinant Of Acquisition Performance And Ceo Rewards," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(2), pages 85-96, February.
    2. Malmendier, Ulrike & Tate, Geoffrey, 2008. "Who makes acquisitions? CEO overconfidence and the market's reaction," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 20-43, July.
    3. Schipper, Katherine & Thompson, Rex, 1983. "Evidence on the capitalized value of merger activity for acquiring firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1-4), pages 85-119, April.
    4. Johan Wiklund & Dean A. Shepherd, 2009. "The Effectiveness of Alliances and Acquisitions: The Role of Resource Combination Activities," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(1), pages 193-212, January.
    5. 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.
    6. Hess, Thomas & Matt, Christian & Benlian, Alexander & Wiesböck, Florian, 2016. "Options for Formulating a Digital Transformation Strategy," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 81032, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    7. Youngjin Yoo & Richard J. Boland & Kalle Lyytinen & Ann Majchrzak, 2012. "Organizing for Innovation in the Digitized World," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1398-1408, October.
    8. Serguey Braguinsky & Atsushi Ohyama & Tetsuji Okazaki & Chad Syverson, 2014. "Acquisitions, productivity, and profitability : Evidence from the Japanese cotton spinning industry," Working Paper Research 270, National Bank of Belgium.
    9. Deng, Ping, 2009. "Why do Chinese firms tend to acquire strategic assets in international expansion?," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 74-84, January.
    10. Divesh S. Sharma & Jonathan Ho, 2002. "The Impact of Acquisitions on Operating Performance: Some Australian Evidence," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1‐2), pages 155-200.
    11. Martynova, M. & Renneboog, L.D.R., 2005. "Takeover Waves : Triggers, Performance and Motives," Discussion Paper 2005-107, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    12. Anderson, John & Sutherland, Dylan & Severe, Sean, 2015. "An event study of home and host country patent generation in Chinese MNEs undertaking strategic asset acquisitions in developed markets," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 758-771.
    13. Serguey Braguinsky & Atsushi Ohyama & Tetsuji Okazaki & Chad Syverson, 2015. "Acquisitions, Productivity, and Profitability: Evidence from the Japanese Cotton Spinning Industry," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(7), pages 2086-2119, July.
    14. Ekkehart Boehmer & Juan (Julie) Wu, 2013. "Short Selling and the Price Discovery Process," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 26(2), pages 287-322.
    15. Vojislav Maksimovic & Gordon Phillips, 2001. "The Market for Corporate Assets: Who Engages in Mergers and Asset Sales and Are There Efficiency Gains?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(6), pages 2019-2065, December.
    16. Ronald W. Masulis & Cong Wang & Fei Xie, 2007. "Corporate Governance and Acquirer Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(4), pages 1851-1889, August.
    17. Anna Nadolska & Harry G. Barkema, 2014. "Good learners: How top management teams affect the success and frequency of acquisitions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(10), pages 1483-1507, October.
    18. Karthik Krishnan & Debarshi K. Nandy & Manju Puri, 2015. "Does Financing Spur Small Business Productivity? Evidence from a Natural Experiment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(6), pages 1768-1809.
    19. He, Haonan & Li, Shiqiang & Wang, Shanyong & Zhang, Chaojia & Ma, Fei, 2023. "Value of dual-credit policy: Evidence from green technology innovation efficiency," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 182-198.
    20. Andrey Golubov & Dimitris Petmezas & Nickolaos G. Travlos, 2012. "When It Pays to Pay Your Investment Banker: New Evidence on the Role of Financial Advisors in M&As," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(1), pages 271-312, February.
    21. Bhattacharyya, Surajit & Chatri, Ankit, 2012. "Efficiency of Indian Commercial Banks: The Post-Reform Experience from Mergers & Acquisitions," MPRA Paper 39299, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    22. Kevin Amess, 2003. "The Effect of Management Buyouts on Firm–level Technical Inefficiency: Evidence from a Panel of UK Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 35-44, March.
    23. Divesh S. Sharma & Jonathan Ho, 2002. "The Impact of Acquisitions on Operating Performance: Some Australian Evidence," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1&2), pages 155-200.
    24. Xiaoxu Zhang & Yu Song & Hongyu Liu, 2023. "Too Much of a Good Thing? The Impact of Serial M&A on Innovation Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-23, June.
    25. Vojislav Maksimovic & Gordon Phillips & Liu Yang, 2013. "Private and Public Merger Waves," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(5), pages 2177-2217, October.
    26. 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.
    27. Gort, Michael & Sung, Nakil, 1999. "Competition and Productivity Growth: The Case of the U.S. Telephone Industry," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 37(4), pages 678-691, October.
    28. Liu, Xiaoqian & Cifuentes-Faura, Javier & Zhao, Shikuan & Wang, Long, 2023. "Government environmental attention and carbon emissions governance: Firm-level evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 121-142.
    29. Maurizio Zollo & Jeffrey J. Reuer, 2010. "Experience Spillovers Across Corporate Development Activities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(6), pages 1195-1212, December.
    30. Youngjin Yoo & Ola Henfridsson & Kalle Lyytinen, 2010. "Research Commentary ---The New Organizing Logic of Digital Innovation: An Agenda for Information Systems Research," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 724-735, December.
    31. Hess, Thomas & Matt, Christian & Benlian, Alexander & Wiesböck, Florian, 2016. "Options for Formulating a Digital Transformation Strategy," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 82423, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    32. Nylén, Daniel & Holmström, Jonny, 2015. "Digital innovation strategy: A framework for diagnosing and improving digital product and service innovation," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 57-67.
    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. Andrey Golubov & Dimitris Petmezas & Nickolaos G. Travlos, 2013. "Empirical mergers and acquisitions research: a review of methods, evidence and managerial implications," Chapters, in: Adrian R. Bell & Chris Brooks & Marcel Prokopczuk (ed.), Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Empirical Finance, chapter 12, pages 287-313, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Swen Nadkarni & Reinhard Prügl, 2021. "Digital transformation: a review, synthesis and opportunities for future research," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 71(2), pages 233-341, April.
    3. Ke, Dun-Yao & Su, Xuan-Qi, 2024. "How Do Elite-Educated CEOs Choose the M&A Payment Method? Evidence from Taiwan," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    4. Sabrina Hoessler & Claus-Christian Carbon, 2024. "Digital transformation in incumbent companies: a qualitative study on exploration and exploitation activities in innovation," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-31, December.
    5. Tao, Fang & Liu, Xiaohui & Gao, Lan & Xia, Enjun, 2017. "Do cross-border mergers and acquisitions increase short-term market performance? The case of Chinese firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 189-202.
    6. Florian Wiesböck & Thomas Hess, 2020. "Digital innovations," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 30(1), pages 75-86, March.
    7. Teubner, Alexander & Stockhinger, Jan, 2020. "IT/IS strategy research and digitalization: An extensive literature review," ERCIS Working Papers 34, University of Münster, European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS).
    8. Navío-Marco, Julio & Serrano Calle, Silvia & Solórzano-García, Marta, 2017. "Analysis of glamorous acquisitions in the telecommunications sector: Overvaluation or success?," 28th European Regional ITS Conference, Passau 2017 169487, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    9. Oehmichen, Jana & Firk, Sebastian & Wolff, Michael & Haas, Veronika, 2022. "Board experience and value creation in cross-border acquisitions: The role of acquirer and target country institutions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(4).
    10. Eckbo, B. Espen, 2009. "Bidding strategies and takeover premiums: A review," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 149-178, February.
    11. Jan Jöhnk & Philipp Ollig & Patrick Rövekamp & Severin Oesterle, 2022. "Managing the complexity of digital transformation—How multiple concurrent initiatives foster hybrid ambidexterity," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(2), pages 547-569, June.
    12. Chun-Liang Chen & Yao-Chin Lin & Wei-Hung Chen & Cheng-Fu Chao & Henry Pandia, 2021. "Role of Government to Enhance Digital Transformation in Small Service Business," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-24, January.
    13. Siachou, Evangelia & Vrontis, Demetris & Trichina, Eleni, 2021. "Can traditional organizations be digitally transformed by themselves? The moderating role of absorptive capacity and strategic interdependence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 408-421.
    14. Plekhanov, Dmitry & Franke, Henrik & Netland, Torbjørn H., 2023. "Digital transformation: A review and research agenda," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 821-844.
    15. Sebastian Firk & André Hanelt & Jana Oehmichen & Michael Wolff, 2021. "Chief Digital Officers: An Analysis of the Presence of a Centralized Digital Transformation Role," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(7), pages 1800-1831, November.
    16. Hong Zhu & Qi Zhu, 2016. "Mergers and acquisitions by Chinese firms: A review and comparison with other mergers and acquisitions research in the leading journals," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 1107-1149, December.
    17. David Soto Setzke & Tobias Riasanow & Markus Böhm & Helmut Krcmar, 2023. "Pathways to Digital Service Innovation: The Role of Digital Transformation Strategies in Established Organizations," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 1017-1037, June.
    18. Wiesböck, Florian & Hess, Thomas, 2018. "Understanding the capabilities for digital innovations from a digital technology perspective," Working Papers 1/2018, University of Munich, Munich School of Management, Institute for Information Systems and New Media.
    19. Satı, Zümrüt Ecevit, 2024. "Comparison of the criteria affecting the digital innovation performance of the European Union (EU) member and candidate countries with the entropy weight-TOPSIS method and investigation of its importa," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    20. Zhou, Jinwei & Luo, Qi, 2024. "Influence factor studies based on ensemble learning on the innovation performance of technology mergers and acquisitions," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 67-89.

    More about this item

    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:plo:pone00:0311045. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.