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This paper aims to examine how Chinese multinational enterprises’ (CMNEs) autonomy-style post-merger integration (PMI) modes of managing developed-market targets evolve into actual-form integration through the lens of ambidexterity.

This study adopts multi-case comparisons with content analysis. A data set was collected from 37 conversations by in-depth interviewing 29 respondents regarding four cases of Chinese acquisitions in the German market.

This study develops a three-stage framework that theorised CMNEs’ autonomy PMIs’ evolution to actual-form integration over time and the effect on acquisition value based on structural, temporal and contextual ambidexterity manifestations. The findings divide the evolutionary trajectory into two sub-trajectories, from great autonomy to autonomy-integration balanced or full integration, to illuminate the effect of different degrees of actual-form integration on value creation or value destruction.

The existing literature on CMNEs’ PMI discovered that CMNEs frequently grant ample autonomy when managing targets acquired from developed markets. However, long-term acquisition benefit is dependent on combining autonomy and actual-form integration; insights into how this can be accomplished are limited. The research is unique in that it reveals the evolutions of CMNEs’ PMIs on developed-market targets, from autonomy to actual-form integration through the lens of ambidexterity.

This paper aims to examine how integration modes impact the acquirer knowledge diffusion capacity of overseas mergers and acquisitions (M&As) effected by emerging market firms and the role played by the global innovation network position of the acquiring firms in affecting this relationship.

Through the use of structural equation modelling and bootstrap testing, the hypotheses are tested by drawing upon a sample of 102 overseas M&As effected by listed Chinese manufacturing companies.

The results show that acquirers from emerging countries are unable to increase the knowledge diffusion capacity unless they choose the right post-merger integration mode. This paper also finds that the relationship between integration mode and knowledge diffusion is channelled through the centrality and structural holes of acquirers in the global innovation networks. When considering the combinations of different resource similarities and complementarities of the acquired firms, differences emerge in the integration model and network embedded path of acquirers in emerging countries.

Emerging market multinational enterprises should consider post-merger integration as a crucial facilitator to the crafting of global innovation network positions that promote knowledge diffusion. The choices of integration mode and brand management autonomy should be matched with the resource similarities and complementarities that exist between the acquirer and target firms.

Based on the resource orchestration theory and by focussing on network centrality and structural hole as the crucial links, this study provides a nuanced understanding of the relationship between post-merger integration and knowledge diffusion and sheds light on latecomer firms from emerging countries.

Technology acquisition is a common phenomenon of acquiring external knowledge, but we have a limited understanding of conditions in which the acquirer integrates the target or not. On one hand, the acquirer may have a policy to integrate the target to benefit from its prior knowledge. On the other hand, the target may face challenges in continuing its knowledge creation and the acquirer may want to provide it autonomy to not disrupt it. This paper aims to identify conditions in which targets tend to be less integrated after acquisitions, allowing them to maintain more autonomy and contribute more to knowledge creation.

We test our arguments in the empirical setting of the global biopharmaceutical industry using a difference-in-difference approach on a longitudinal dataset of matched patents. We examine self-cites received by patents belonging to acquirers and the targets before and after the acquisitions.

We find that, on average, the targets’ prior patents do not receive more self-cites after the acquisition. We conclude that this is because their R&D activities are disrupted, suggesting a higher level of post-acquisition integration. However, more nuanced findings reveal that it may not be the case all the time. When the target has more research experience, is international or is specialized in complementary technologies, prior patents of targets continue to receive more self-cites after the acquisition. It indicates that the targets in such conditions continue knowledge creation, suggesting a lower level of post-acquisition integration.

Our findings contribute to post-acquisition integration research. While post-acquisition integration downside is common, we present conditions in which such a downside may be less likely. We highlight that the context of an acquisition may be an important determinant of the extent of integration of the target. Moreover, we supplement the integration research (cultural, structural and human resource and leadership perspectives of integration) by adding a knowledge-based perspective to it. Such dynamics have important implications for acquirers and targets in deriving value from the acquisition.

Although extant post-acquisition literature has mainly focused on the integration of stand-alone firms, many acquisitions involve select units that were divested from former parents. Scholars have therefore recently called for moving beyond the dominant dyadic acquirer–target view of the acquisition process to a triadic view that considers the roles of, and interactions between, divestors, targets, and acquirers in the acquisition process. The authors set out to build an extended process view of such triadic relations based on a five-year longitudinal case study of one entrepreneurial company, acquiring two divested units from large multinational companies. The case sheds light on how divestors and acquirers together shape synergy realization efforts and identity-building by targets, causing dramatic shifts in perceptions of success throughout the acquisition process. The authors hope the case offers greater understanding, and triggers more research, into mingled integration and disintegration processes. The authors also highlight three impediments that can shape post-acquisition choices and discontinuous processes when acquiring divested units.

Prior research on post-acquisition integration has paid little attention to the factors that influence the development of trust between the members of an acquiring firm and those of the target firm. Using a policy capturing approach, we found that five aspects of the takeover situation and the integration process affect target firm members’ trust in the acquiring firm's management: takeover friendliness, national cultural similarity, interaction history of the acquiring firm and the target firm, retained autonomy, and attractiveness of the acquiring firm's HR policies. Our findings suggest that of the five trust antecedents, the attractiveness of the acquirer's HR policies is by far the most powerful predictor of target firm members’ trust in the acquiring firm's management. The implications for post-acquisition integration research and practice are discussed.

This paper aims to identify the role of language in international business context, especially in a post-merger integration (PMI) process, and to develop a framework for language strategies in a PMI context.

Based on the authors’ review and building on earlier works, this paper develops a conceptual model regarding the use of language in different PMI scenarios and identifies the key resource mix that may be suited for an effective deployment of language strategies.

The authors find that the use of a language at target firms depends on the degrees of strategic interdependence and organizational autonomy. They classify different constellations of targets in a PMI context and propose the most appropriate language strategies for different classification of PMI firms.

The authors develop five testable future research propositions based on our conceptual model. The paper is not without its limitations. The authors’ propositions need to be tested in future studies. It may be sometimes difficult to collect data based on all the four segments of firms using a quantitative design. It is also challenging to investigate about the language used at the target firms using quantitative designs.

The authors’ model has several practical implications for the managers. Bidder firm’s managers can decide the use of appropriate language depending on their acquisition strategy. It is very likely that target managers have to change the language following the acquisition, and because of this change, influence on their routines will be significant. This issue becomes most important if both firms do not speak the common corporate language – English language. The authors bring ideas for a best fit, which are applicable not just for merger and acquisition but also for other strategic sourcing areas such as outsourcing strategies.

There are several negative emotions that are invoked through language. Language is also power laden and affects social structure and group dynamics at work. By addressing the use of appropriate language strategies, people can potentially avoid the dark side of language.

The authors present testable propositions for future research in a PMI context.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of inter-group conflicts on the trust toward the acquirer and then further on cooperation intention after acquisitions in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As), in the lens of the social classification theory. Two types of conflicts (realistic conflicts and symbolic conflicts) and a mediating mechanism (trust toward the acquirer) exhibit different effects on cooperation intention. The research further examines two moderating coping strategies (localizing management and assigning trustworthy expatriate managers) and tests their effectiveness in promoting trust toward the acquirer and increasing cooperation intention in cross-border M&As.

The research hypotheses were empirically tested in the context of post-acquisition of Chinese companies' cross-border M&As. In total, 600 questionnaires were provided to the research participants of 37 acquired firms/units from advanced economies of 12 Chinese companies, and 209 valid questionnaires were collected (the response rate is 34.83%). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to verify data validity and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were employed to test relational and moderating effects.

This research demonstrates that both realistic and symbolic conflicts can reduce the intention to cooperate, but the latter does not have a significant influence. The results also uncover that whether employees from acquired firms trust in their acquirers mediates the relationship between realistic conflicts and cooperation intention. Moreover, management localization (a measurement of whether local/original managers are retained with a high degree of freedom and autonomy after M&As) and trustworthiness of expatriate managers (a measurement of whether the assigned expatriate managers is trustworthy) positively moderate the relation between realistic conflicts and trust toward the acquirer. In addition, trust toward the acquirer mediates the interaction of realistic conflicts and management localization on the cooperation intention of the acquirers' employees.

This study examines how inter-organizational conflicts influence trust toward the acquirer and then cooperation intentions in the context of Chinese companies' M&A behavior of targets from developed countries and gain supportive evidence, which enriches the literature on the management of international M&As. By introducing two management localization and trustworthiness of expatriate managers into the model, the research deepens our knowledge of how to build trust toward the acquirer in cross-border M&As.

Increasing chances of firm survival requires enduring entrepreneurship or the ability to balance competing demands for exploration and exploitation. We developed how acquisitions can provide needed disruption to change a firm’s dominant orientation toward exploration or exploitation or enable a continued focus on a firm’s dominant orientation. The result is a new typology for acquisition integration associated with different pre- and post-acquisition characteristics. For example, a firm with an exploitation orientation faces different integration challenges in acquiring targets with an exploration or exploitation orientation. We also distinguished between human and task integration to enable more nuanced integration decisions that help to reconcile conflicting findings on acquisition integration decisions. Implications for management research and practice were discussed.

Despite the recent slow down in overall activity, acquisitions continue to be a popular growth strategy used by firms competing in a globally competitive marketplace (Duck, Sirower & Dumas, 2002). At the same time, acquisitions are more of a complex phenomenon than ever in that the conditions under which they enhance or destroy firm value still remain unclear despite the wealth of acquisition studies in finance and management. In fact, recent studies by several major consulting and advisory services firms provide evidence that at a minimum one-third to one-half of these deals fail to achieve anticipated benefits, cost savings and other outcomes (KPMG, 1999; Mergerstat, 2000; PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2000). Even more alarming, the latest reports released by Booz Allen and Hamilton (2001) and BusinessWeek (Henry, 2002) indicate that this “failure” to deliver announced benefits and improvements in shareholder wealth increases to over 60% when examining large M&As which typically bring together two firms that not only compete in similar product or market domains but also have comparable size positions. Thus, the question lingers…What distinguishes those acquisitions that are successful in meeting intended goals and performance improvements from those that are not successful?

The extent to which emerging multinational enterprises (EMNEs) challenge extant international management (IM) theories is a question under current discussion. The purpose of this paper is to confront two classic theories (internationalization process model (IPM) and post-acquisition integration types) to several EMNEs strategies within their initial conceptual frameworks, exploring how their practices lead to extend and update existing models.

This paper compares the classic IPM with the development stages of iconic EMNEs. This reveals how EMNEs’ strategies can be analyzed within extant conceptual frameworks, extending their theoretical content. This approach is then applied to an empirical study of post-acquisition integrations conducted in France by EMNEs from 11 countries of origin.

Two theories are discussed, with suggested updates, within their extant frameworks, taking into account EMNEs’ strategies. First, the initial IPM is re-explored to reveal concentrated paths, from all quadrants of the framework. Similarly, post-integration typologies are updated, including the partnering approach frequently implemented by EMNEs, and the holding approach empirically identified with some specific features (subjection).

This paper combines an analysis of some iconic EMNEs’ internationalization processes and empirical data on up-market acquisitions by EMNEs from diverse countries of origin. It provides suggestions to update two IM theories.