Acquisitions are usually a far more complicated and expensive operation than green field development

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journal article

Learning through Acquisitions

The Academy of Management Journal

Vol. 44, No. 3 (Jun., 2001)

, pp. 457-476 (20 pages)

Published By: Academy of Management

https://doi.org/10.2307/3069364

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3069364

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Abstract

Research on acquisitions has typically focused on acquisitions per se, examining issues such as performance and implementation problems. This study moves beyond that perspective and studies the influence on a firm's later expansions. We argue that exploitation of a firm's knowledge base through "greenfields" eventually makes a firm simple and inert. In contrast, acquisitions may broaden a firm's knowledge base and decrease inertia, enhancing the viability of its later ventures. Over time, firms strike a balance between the use of greenfields and acquisitions. Various implications of this theory-tested with survival analysis and "logit" models-were strongly corroborated.

Journal Information

The Academy of Management Journal presents cutting edge research that provides readers with a forecast for new management thoughts and techniques. All articles published in the journal must make a strong empirical and/or theoretical contribution. All empirical methods including (but not limited to) qualitative, quantitative, or combination methods are represented. Articles published in the journal are clearly relevant to management theory and practice and identify both a compelling practical management issue and a strong theoretical framework for addressing it. For more than 40 years the journal has been recognized as indispensable reading for management scholars. The journal has been cited in such forums as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist and The Washington Post. The journal is published six times per year with a circulation of 15,000.

Publisher Information

The Academy of Management (the Academy; AOM) is a leading professional association for scholars dedicated to creating and disseminating knowledge about management and organizations. The Academy's central mission is to enhance the profession of management by advancing the scholarship of management and enriching the professional development of its members. The Academy is also committed to shaping the future of management research and education. Founded in 1936, the Academy of Management is the oldest and largest scholarly management association in the world. Today, the Academy is the professional home for more than 18290 members from 103 nations. Membership in the Academy is open to all individuals who find value in belonging.

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Acquisitions are usually a far more complicated and expensive operation than green field development

Acquisitions are usually a far more complicated and expensive operation than green field development

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Abstract

We develop and test a model of Chinese greenfield investments using institutional and learning theories. Both the host country institutional context and the firm's international characteristics affect the establishment mode. Using 152 Chinese emerging market multinationals (EMNEs) with 401 subsidiaries distributed in 26 countries from 2003 to 2013, we build a database of 284 pairs of host country/Chinese firms to test two hypotheses. We find that, first, governance environment affects the establishment mode: greenfield investments are preferred over acquisitions in relation-based host markets, and M&As are preferred in rule-based countries. Second, the depth of Chinese EMNEs' international experience (i.e. the amount of previous investments in the same host market) moderates the effect of the governance environment on the establishment mode. Firms with greater international depth use more M&As in relation-based markets and more greenfield investments in rule-based markets, suggesting that previous investments in the same host country provide a type of learning that reduces acquisition uncertainty in the former case and increases the self-confidence of Chinese EMNEs in the latter.

Keywords

Institutional theory

Governance environment

Rule-based and relation-based

Establishment mode

Greenfield and M&A

Emerging markets multinationals

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© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.