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Mergers and Acquisitions as Strategic Decisions for a Decision-Making Theory

ISBN: 978-1-83982-329-9, eISBN: 978-1-83982-328-2

Publication date: 30 November 2020

Abstract

This chapter presents a personal research journey starting from my interest in firms’ decision-making within the tradition of the behavioral theory of the firm to discovering mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as an ideal decision context to advance the theory. Using my two articles published in the Academy of Management Journal as examples, I showcase how to leverage the specific attributes of M&A together with the institutional context in which they occur to develop and test new theories. Each paper addresses a distinctive research question and provides a unique angle of theoretical insights to the theory of decision-making. In particular, I was able to dig deeper into the mechanisms of institutional logic, power, and coalition building for explaining how firms make strategic decisions, all owing to the significance and versatility of M&A.

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Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the editors of Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions, Sydney Finkelstein and Cary Cooper, for inviting me to contribute my humble insights on this exiting topic. I also want to especially thank Quy Huy and Taco Reus for inviting me to give a speech in the PDW “Mergers & Acquisitions: Research, Practice and Teaching” at the Academy of Management Annual Conference, 2018, Chicago, which inspired and encouraged me to synthesize how my research has benefited from the context of mergers and acquisitions. I am also grateful for the constant support of my coauthor, Henrich Greve, for always being reliable in providing constructive comments to this work.

Citation

Zhang, C.M. (2020), "Mergers and Acquisitions as Strategic Decisions for a Decision-Making Theory", Finkelstein, S. and Cooper, C.L. (Ed.) Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions (Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions, Vol. 19), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 49-64. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-361X20200000019006

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited