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The purpose of this paper is to identify key factors that influence the integration process in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals of emerging multinational enterprises (EMNEs). The research questions are: how national and organizational culture coupled with other organizational characteristics influence M&A deals of EMNEs? Which factors influence the process of cultural and organizational integration in cross-border M&A deals, initiated by EMNEs? What is the effect and consequences that different integration factors have on cross-border M&A deals by EMNEs?

The paper is based on a multiple case study research, considering cross-border deals of Chinese and Russian firms separately. Each block consists of two cases, describing M&A integration of companies operating in two sectors: high technology and finance. The authors obtained the data for case studies from companies’ official websites, annual reports, press releases, other official documents where companies were mentioned, business-media sources (newspapers and magazines), published interviews, documented speeches, letters, laws, as well as through blogs and social networks. The authors have also used the published information from articles, books, databases, and previously conducted case studies.

The authors have identified the factors influencing deals’ results of Chinese and Russian MNEs, with explanation based on case studies’ analysis. The full list of factors is presented in Table IV in the manuscript. The authors have also identified the set of elements that were derived from the case studies’ analysis only, without having any strong support in the literature, such as changes at a senior management level, educational and business exchanges, CSR policy, and the government involvement.

The authors have identified the key factors that influence integration of emerging market firms in cross-border M&A deal. The list of factors was adjusted and actualized in accordance with the results of four cases of cross-border M&A deals of Chinese or Russian companies. As a result, the authors founded the combination of characteristics of cultural and organizational integration process of firms from China and Russia.

This paper aims to investigate the relationships between the strategic type of cross‐border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and enterprise growth, and the moderating role of Chinese companies' organizational factors, including organizational structure, organizational experience, cultural distance and relative size.

The authors, as researchers, have mixed the strategic choice and post‐M&As integration into a comprehensive framework while building the theoretical model of “Strategic Type of Cross‐border M&As‐Organizational Factors‐Enterprise Growth” (ST‐OF‐EG). In this paper, they have empirically examined the model using hierarchical regression by analyzing 76 cross‐borders M&A events of overseas‐listed Chinese companies over the 2000‐2007 period.

The analysis shows that: related cross‐border M&As are better for enterprise growth than unrelated diversification cross‐border M&As; and among the organizational factors, studied organizational structure and organizational experience show a positive significance in terms of the relationship between the strategic type of cross‐border M&As and enterprise growth. The moderating role of cultural distance and relative size is non‐significant.

In this paper, the moderating effect of cultural distance was found to be insignificant. However, further research is encouraged.

Chinese companies should pay attention to strategic choices before cross‐border M&As. They should expand abroad to markets step by step. They should merge the companies that have the higher relevance on a product, industry or market first. On the basis of specialization, Chinese companies should make themselves stronger and then develop from specialization to proper diversification, which is a robust path to achieve enterprise growth. Besides, Chinese companies should accumulate international experience as soon as possible and organizational structure should match the strategic choice.

This paper would be immensely helpful to Chinese companies to plan their cross‐border M&As strategy in a way that would enhance growth and core‐competence.

An increasing number of Chinese enterprises are involved in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As). However, few Chinese enterprises have achieved successful integration, which plays a critical role in enhancing performance. The important field of cultural integration is currently facing major challenges. To identify the reasons for these challenges, studies have analyzed why cultural integration succeeds or fails and have suggested that cultural differences between acquiring and acquired enterprises are the primary obstacles to cultural integration. However, it is unclear how success can be achieved. The paper aims to focus on cultural integration from the perspective of acculturation to describe the penetration of cultural elements in M&As.

In adopting acculturation as our theoretical lens, the authors use the case study method to answer the following research question: “how can the cultural integration of Chinese enterprises be successfully achieved?” Two typical cases are examined: Lenovo’s cultural integration with IBM’s personal computer (PC) division and Haier’s cultural integration with Sanyo home appliance. First, using the exploratory case study method, the Lenovo–IBM PC division case is analyzed. The characteristics and relationships between cultural environments, employee adoption methods and acculturation patterns are summarized to reveal a cultural integration path. Second, the Haier–Sanyo home appliance case is analyzed using the confirmative case study method to test the findings of the Lenovo–IBM PC division case.

The results indicate that it is critical to achieve a dynamic fit between cultural environments, employee adoption methods and acculturation patterns during each stage of cultural integration (exploration, experimentation, reinforcement and fixing). The three constructs of these stages reflect the following evolutionary paths: “isolate-introduce-learning-chance taking”, “detecting-icebreaking-interacting-remodeling” and “specialized sections-senior managers-managers-employees”.

These findings contribute to the development of cultural integration and acculturation theories and serve as a reference for Chinese enterprises wishing to implement cultural integration strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on emerging market companies that internationalize into advanced economies by means of acquisitions and to investigate brand management during post-acquisition integration from a multi-level perspective and to identify how a brand management strategy can be constructed. It takes into account the influences of country-of-origin image, corporate brand and brand portfolio to obtain a granular view of post-acquisition brand management.

A multiple case study approach was adopted. By using case studies and storytelling qualitative research methods, the empirical setting was related to the acquisitions undertaken by Chinese companies in Germany.

The authors identified three mechanisms for brand management in the post-acquisition integration of emerging market companies – namely, transferring, dynamically redeploying and categorizing – that underpin the interconnection and combined influence of country-of-origin image at the national level, corporate brand at the organizational level and brand portfolio at the product level.

Brand has been viewed as a strategic asset in Chinese cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Brand management is a dynamic process that involves learning and interaction between the acquirer and target. The research offers a practical guideline for both acquirers and targets in managing brand in the context of acquisitions undertaken by emerging market companies in advanced economies.

The findings provide important insights into the brand management strategies adopted in Chinese cross-border M&As in particular, and emerging market companies venturing into advanced economies in general. The interlinking of country, company and product levels introduces new ideas to the brand literature related to acquisitions, and the setting of Chinese companies acquiring German ones constitutes an important contribution to the understanding of the different ways in which companies from emerging economies may pursue branding strategies in the context of cross-border M&As.

This paper aims to explore the relationships between organizational unlearning and knowledge transfer in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) from a routine-based view. The study also stresses the mediating role that knowledge integration capability plays in this relationship.

In all, 178 samples were collected from Chinese multinational corporations that experienced cross-border M&As. In addition, the bootstrap method was used to test the mediating role of knowledge integration capability.

The empirical results indicate that knowledge integration capability is the crucial link between organizational unlearning and knowledge transfer. Specifically, this capability goes beyond the direct effect of organizational unlearning on knowledge transfer and points to the importance of enhancing knowledge integration capability. In turn, knowledge integration capability has a significant influence on knowledge transfer. The study finds that knowledge integration capability mediates the relationship between organizational unlearning and knowledge transfer.

This study adopts a routine-based view to develop a theoretical model for examining the relationship between organizational unlearning, knowledge integration capability and knowledge transfer in the context of cross-border M&As. This model provides new insights for a routine-based understanding of the important mediating role of knowledge integration capability for knowledge transfer and the effects of this role on the specific knowledge transfer, i.e. technological, marketing and managerial knowledge.

The study aims to examine the effects of guanxi and harmonious leadership on acquisition performance and the role of sociocultural integration as a mediating mechanism impacting the above links, with a focus on Chinese cross-border acquisitions in The Netherlands.

Data were collected through survey questionnaire with 91 respondents who work in Dutch-acquired companies. Regression analysis was used for exploring the relationship.

The study finds that both guanxi and harmonious leadership are positive to acquisition performance, and sociocultural integration represents a significant mediating mechanism by which guanxi and harmonious leadership can result in improved acquisition performance.

This study contributes to culture research by emphasizing the clarification of specific Chinese cultural values and cultural practices in cross-border acquisitions and examining the role of guanxi and harmonious leadership in acquisition performance. Meanwhile, this study helps to unveil Chinese cross-border acquisitions in The Netherlands by examining the mediating force – sociocultural integration.

This study investigates the way in which acquisition-related human factors affect knowledge transfer in the context of Chinese cross-border M&A for strategic assets. The authors find that the process of knowledge transfer is reciprocal for revenue and cost synergies, including explicit and tacit knowledge. The establishment of joint ventures (JV) in China after the takeover boosts product-oriented knowledge transfer from overseas-acquired firms in mature markets to Chinese acquirers. The promotion of overseas synergies stimulates complementary knowledge transfer flow, which is reversely transferred from Chinese acquirers to overseas-acquired subsidiaries such as low-saving sourcing and new market applications. This study identifies three acquisition-related human factors that impact overseas knowledge senders for knowledge transfer. These human factors are implemented by Chinese strategic investors as new shareholders during the loosen integration phase. The first facilitator is all-round communication programs with top management involvement, aiming to build up constructive communication channels to boost knowledge transfer. The second facilitator is competence-based trust, which stimulates cooperation and application based on similar professional competence between Chinese acquirers and their overseas-acquired subsidiaries. The impeder is a high turnover of key skilled workers at Chinese acquirers to undermine the effectiveness of knowledge transfer.

This paper aims to explore the critical success factors (CSFs) in Chinese cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) to improve the odds of Chinese overseas acquisition success.

For the multidisciplinary analysis purpose, a SCOPE model is developed to integrate the five key dimensions of Strategic (S), Cultural (C), Organizational (O), Process (P) and External (E) CSFs. Because of the exploratory nature of the research, a case study approach has been applied.

Based on the two in-depth case studies of Lenovo’s acquisition of Medion and Sany’s acquisition of Putzmeister in Germany, eight CSFs along the five key dimensions have been identified. Apart from the identified CSFs, the two other factors of robust due diligence and M&A project organizational structure fit are worthy of noting.

The first limitation relates to the weaknesses of case study research method. The findings derived from the two selected M&A cases cannot be generalized to all the contexts of Chinese cross-border M&As. The second limitation relates to the subjective nature of judgments made by the participants in our empirical study. The identified CSFs were based on the perceptions of the interviewed managers.

The research is of high practical importance for Chinese companies doing or considering cross-border M&As. The CSFs identified in this research can direct managerial priorities toward those few areas which should receive careful attention and control to achieve the M&A success.

No much empirical research has addressed Chinese cross-border M&As from a CSF perspective. This research helps to fill this research gap and provides new insights for the Chinese companies to increase the success rate in their cross-border M&A projects.

This paper aims to evaluate the value creation of cross-border acquisitions conducted by Chinese firms and determinants that result in the different performance. During the recent decades, the world has witnessed multinational enterprises (MNEs) from emerging economies undertaking aggressive cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M & As). This phenomenon raises great attention in the international business community, and also challenges the traditional understanding in the extant literature.

The authors examine 272 cross-border M & As associated with 48 target countries during the period 1996-2012.

Evidences show that cross-border expansions on average point to negative performance in the short term. The authors also find that prior cross-border M & A experiences, ownership structure of the acquirer (state-owned vs private) and acquirer size positively affect the performance of the acquiring firm.

In addition to contributing to cross-border M & A literature, the findings also provide useful guidance to outward foreign direct investment by firms from emerging economies.

Mergers and acquisitions being done by emerging market multinational corporations (EMNCs) increasingly attract scholarly attention. However, conclusions concerning the nature and the theoretical underpinnings of EMNCs’ post-acquisition integration vary significantly, calling for an assessment of the state of affairs in this field. This paper aims to critically review the extant studies on EMNCs’ post-acquisition integration and to make a comparison with advanced economy multinational corporations’ (AMNCs’) post-acquisition integration, in order to formulate an agenda for future research.

A sample of papers from 21 leading journals in the fields of international business, management, human resource management and strategy published between 1991 and March 2018 are included in the literature review. Qualitative content analysis was conducted.

The topics are clustered into the four themes of strategies and processes, influencing factors, acquisition performance and antecedents of post-acquisition integration of EMNCs. The literature on EMNCs and AMNCs converges with regard to the broad methodological and theoretical approaches that have been adopted. Yet, EMNCs and AMNCs diverge on the detailed strategies and behavioral patterns of post-acquisition integration, mostly as a consequence of country of origin factors.

The paper identifies a number of deficiencies within existing research and suggests how they can be addressed in future research. By doing so, the paper deepens the argumentation of the third camp in the “Goldilocks debate” (Cuervo-Cazurra, 2012) arguing that the phenomenon of post-acquisition of EMNCs is “just right” for theory extension and development.