Post-acquisition control strategy and cross-border acquisition performance of Chinese MNEs: a fsQCA approach
- 9 March 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Emerald in Management Decision
- Vol. 59 (12), 2970-2991
- https://doi.org/10.1108/md-08-2020-0986
Abstract
Purpose: Post-acquisition control is a crucial factor affecting acquisition performance. We investigate how post-acquisition control strategy affects cross-border acquisition performance of Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) through a configurational perspective.Design/methodology/approach: Based on 70 cross-border acquisition cases by Chinese MNEs, we adopt fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to study the combined effects of strategic control, operational control, institutional distance, cultural distance, relative capacity and business relatedness on the cross-border acquisition performance.Findings: On the basis of fuzzy set analysis of multiple interdependent factors, we identify six configurations that are conductive to achieving high cross-border acquisition performance and two configurations that relate to the absence of high performance, thus shedding light on the casually complex nature of performance drivers of acquisitions.Originality/value: This study provides a holistic, configurational approach to investigating cross-border acquisition performance by emerging market firms. Our results provide some compelling evidence that accounts for the causal complexity of post-acquisition control strategies and acquisition outcomes in the context of emerging economies.Keywords
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