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From a target perspective, this paper aims to examine the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transaction valuations.

This paper uses a sample of 629 international transactions conducted between 2002 and 2020. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was applied by using ESG aggregate score and the three ESG pillars: environment, social and governance.

This paper finds that the ESG performance of targets has a negative and significant impact on acquisition premiums. However, this paper finds that targets receive lower premiums by increasing their ESG score, suggesting that targets would do better to focus on ESG to increase shareholder wealth. Thus, results of this paper support the view that ESG-focused firms create shareholder value through the M&A process. Furthermore, results of this paper indicate that environmental and social aspects of ESG drive the acquisition premium. The governance score does not seem to be related to acquisition premiums.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first study to assess whether ESG performance impacts the valuation of M&A transactions by decomposing ESG into its three components.

Drawing on the literature on technological acquisition and the knowledge-based view , this study examines how technological overlap between acquiring and target firms influences acquisition premiums. We further explore how the resulting synergies are contingent on the dynamic characteristics of the target firm, specifically its technology clockspeed and industry munificence. Technology clockspeed indicates the pace of technological evolution, reflecting internal dynamic resources, while industry munificence represents the abundance of external resources. These boundary conditions illustrate the dynamics of synergies, explaining their moderation effects on acquisition premiums.

We analyze a sample of 369 technological acquisitions by publicly traded U.S. firms between 1990 and 2011. To test our hypotheses, we used the ordinary least squares regression model with robust standard errors clustered by acquiring firms. In the robustness checks, we applied the generalized estimating equations to account for non-independent observations in our sample and verified that the results were robust to an alternative two-way clustering approach.

We suggest that a low level of technological overlap between an acquiring firm and its target firm leads the acquiring firm to offer a high acquisition premium because of the expected synergistic potential that evolves from combining two distant technological bases. We further find that this effect is contingent on the target firm's technology clockspeed and industry munificence. Specifically, the negative effect is amplified when target firms exhibit a rapid pace of technological evolution, whereas it is weakened when target firms operate in highly munificent industries characterized by robust growth and abundant resource flows.

This study has several limitations, but it offers opportunities for future research. First, our sample is limited to domestic acquisitions between U.S. publicly traded firms, which may restrict generalizability. Cross-border acquisitions could reveal different dynamics, as technology leakage and national security concerns might make technological overlap a more sensitive factor. Additionally, private firms were not included, and their distinct strategic considerations could provide further insights. Future research could explore post-acquisition data to validate these synergies and expand the scope to include international contexts and private firms for a comprehensive analysis.

Our findings highlight important implications for managers in technology sector acquisitions. This study underscores the need for a thorough evaluation of target firms to avoid misjudging synergies. Low technological overlap can heighten expectations for value creation, making it crucial for executives to accurately assess potential synergies to prevent overestimation. Managers should consider both internal resources and external industry conditions when evaluating synergies. Ultimately, these insights help managers offer informed prices that reflect true strategic synergies, adopting effective valuation practices to mitigate risks of financial overpayments and poor post-merger performance.

The social implications of our findings emphasize the broader impact of acquisition decisions on innovation and competition within the technology sector. By ensuring accurate valuation and avoiding overpayment, companies can allocate resources more efficiently, fostering sustainable growth and innovation. This diligent approach can reduce the risk of corporate failures.

This study makes two key theoretical contributions. First, it identifies technological overlap as a critical determinant of acquisition premiums in technological acquisitions, addressing gaps in the literature that focused on CEO characteristics and managerial attention. Second, it expands the theoretical framework by highlighting the dynamic nature of synergies, influenced by the target firm's technology clockspeed and industry munificence. By integrating both acquiring and target firm characteristics, this study provides a relational perspective on value creation, explaining why firms pay high premiums and offering a more comprehensive understanding of the strategic motivations in technological acquisitions.

The primary aim of this study is to resolve a longstanding debate concerning the impact of takeover premiums on post-acquisition performance. Specifically, we aim to examine how acquirers' marketing capabilities and payment methods moderate the relationship between takeover premiums and post-acquisition performance.

This study employs linear regression to examine the relationship between acquirers' marketing capabilities, payment methods, takeover premiums and post-acquisition performance in the Chinese manufacturing industry. Data for the analysis were collected from both mergers and acquisition (M&A) announcements and the China Stock Market & Accounting Research Database (CSMAR), covering 1,169 acquisitions from 2012 to 2021.

The results indicate that acquirers' marketing capabilities moderate the impact of takeover premiums on post-acquisition performance. When acquirers possess strong marketing capabilities, takeover premiums increase post-acquisition performance. Conversely, when acquirers lack strong marketing capabilities, takeover premiums are not significantly related to post-acquisition performance. Additionally, it is noteworthy that takeover premiums show a positive correlation with post-acquisition performance, irrespective of the payment methods employed by acquirers for target firms.

Given that takeover premiums are essential for acquiring resources from target firms, it is crucial to maximize the value of these acquired resources. Our findings suggest that acquirers with weaker marketing capabilities before the deal should consider a more conservative approach to pricing target firms.

The primary purpose of this Practice Briefing is to examine the implications of the recommendations of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Review of Investment Valuations to shift towards (explicit) discounted cash flow (DCF) valuations on valuers, clients, risk management and market data.

This Practice Briefing will develop a conceptual framework to articulate the impact of the shift towards explicit modelling assumptions in valuations. A comparative analysis is conducted to contrast traditional valuation approaches with an explicit DCF approach.

The proposed shift to DCF valuations in the real estate industry carries both subtle and profound implications. While on the surface, the move appears to bring minimal change since current valuations are already DCF-based, a deeper exploration reveals a potential transformation to the understanding, analysis and measurement of pricing and risks in commercial real estate.

The traditional techniques adopted in valuations have become pervasive in the industry, hindering more sophisticated modelling and analysis of individual assets and portfolios. Explicitly modelling assumptions in both the initial years of cash flow and perpetuity calculations would unveil fundamental relationships and rationales that have previously been buried within, and perhaps ignored by, an All Risks Yield (ARY).

This briefing identifies the cause of confusion when interpreting ARY differentials on implied target returns and risk and demonstrates how a change to explicit assumptions, such as growth and letting periods, would enhance transparency, enabling more informed client–valuer discussions, which in-turn will boost confidence in valuation accuracy, lead to more sophisticated asset modelling, market data, forecasting and market analysis.

In conducting acquisitions, acquirers often hire financial advisors as independent third parties and ask for their endorsement, aiming to assuage their shareholders’ concerns. The market for financial advisors is status-based as acquirers seek higher-status advisors (rather than lower-status advisors) assuming that higher-status advisors can better discern good from poor acquisitions because they are more trustworthy and competent. The authors challenge such an assumption by suggesting that the status-based market for advisors may fail among middle-status advisors. Middle-status advisors experience strong competition from higher-status advisors in attracting and retaining clients. Such pressure incentivizes middle-status advisors to endorse even risky deals that are more likely to result in acquisition failure. In contrast, high-status advisors have little incentive to endorse risky deals; low-status advisors are overlooked by acquirers needing strong external endorsement. Based on 828 deals by US acquiring firms, the authors find advisors’ status and the acquisition premium their clients pay to have an inverted U-shaped relationship, suggesting that middle-status advisors have the greatest likelihood to endorse overvalued acquisition deals.

This paper aims to examine the convergence and divergence of business and production practices in the global wine industry, particularly focusing on Pinot Noir producers in Burgundy, New Zealand and South Africa (SA). This study explores the interplay between firm-specific factors and regional contexts to identify competitive advantage drivers among Pinot Noir producers.

This research uses a comparative analysis approach, using data from a comprehensive winery level survey. This study applies methodologies akin to value chain analysis to unravel the configuration of productive and technology/knowledge creation activities within wineries across three regions.

This analysis reveals both convergence and divergence in business and production practices among Pinot Noir producers in Burgundy, New Zealand and South Africa. Although there is a degree of convergence in marketing, distribution and competition strategies, differences exist in production practices and firms’ capabilities. Burgundy emphasizes tradition and terroir expression, contrasting with the modernization and innovation focus observed in New Zealand and South Africa. However, all regions share a commitment to quality as a competitive advantage.

This study acknowledges limitations such as the focus on a specific grape variety and regions, the absence of performance impact analysis and the need for additional variables like environmental, institutional and cultural factors and consumer preferences to provide a comprehensive understanding of industry dynamics.

The insights from this study offer practical implications for winemakers, industry stakeholders and policymakers. Producers can optimize production and marketing strategies based on regional contexts and market segments, whereas stakeholders can identify emerging trends and opportunities in the global wine market. Policymakers can develop targeted policies supporting innovation, sustainability and competitiveness.

This paper provides a unique contribution by conducting a comparative firm-level analysis across distinct wine-producing regions, shedding light on the nuanced interplay of factors shaping competitive advantage among Pinot Noir producers. This study’s comprehensive data set and methodological approach enhance understanding and offer valuable insights for industry stakeholders and policymakers.

This study aims to examine how consumers’ propensity to purchase imported wines is influenced by their attitudes and perceptions toward the countries of origin (COO) of those wines.

The questionnaires were distributed online and 298 valid completed questionnaires were received. This study measured the perception of the wines’ countries of origin by adopting two independent dimensions of competence and warmth in the stereotype content model.

The results show a relationship between the purchase intention and the perception of the country of origin of the wine. Furthermore, the perceived image of the country of origin impacts the brand image of the wine and the quality of wine from its country of origin.

This study’s questionnaire was distributed online. Future research would benefit from in-depth qualitative investigation and a wider range of sample sizes across countries.

The results of this study guide imported wine companies in product marketing design and advertising. By promoting the countries of origin of premium wines to target consumers, trust in the quality of imported wine can be improved, thereby increasing consumers’ purchase intention.

This study contributes to the understanding of consumer perception of the country of origin in the context of wine marketing. It provides valuable implications for wine companies’ marketing positioning and strategy, benefiting wine marketers, distributors and importers.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of the target firm’s high-tech status on the share of ownership decision in cross-border acquisitions (CBAs), which is an under-explored topic in cross-border M&A literature.

The authors used Tobit regression and tested the hypotheses using a sample of 7,011 CBA transactions between 1999 and 2014. Inverse Mills ratio was used to address selection bias, and various robustness tests were performed.

The authors found that acquirers seek greater ownership share when acquiring high-tech firms, and that this relationship is moderated by various firm and national level factors. Specifically, the positive relationship between the high-tech status of a target firm and ownership share acquired is stronger when the firms’ primary operations are highly related or there is high formal institutional distance between the firms’ home countries, but it is weaker when acquirers have more prior M&A experience or there is high cultural and geographic distance between the firms’ home countries.

While the topic of ownership strategy in CBAs is advancing, it is still limited, especially when examining acquisitions of high-tech target firms. The authors contribute to the research on CBAs and ownership strategy by focusing on the high-tech status of the target firm, and using a sample of both private and public target firms from 116 countries.

This study aims to examine the multidimensional nature of institutional distance as a driver of acquisition decisions in emerging markets. Then, this study aims to offer a nuanced perspective on the role of its various formal and informal dimensions by taking into account the potential contingency role played by a firm’s context experience.

Building on institutional economics and organizational institutionalism, this study explores the heterogeneity of institutional distance and its effects on the decision to enter emerging versus advanced markets through cross-border acquisitions. Thus, institutional distance is disentangled into its formal and informal dimensions, the former being captured by regulatory efficiency, country governance and financial development. Furthermore, our framework examines the moderating effect of an acquiring firm’s experience in institutionally similar environments, defined as context experience. The hypotheses are analyzed on a sample of 496 cross-border acquisitions by Italian companies in 41 countries from 2008 to 2018.

Findings indicate that at an increasing distance in terms of regulatory efficiency and financial development, acquiring firms are less likely to enter emerging markets, while informal institutional distance is positively associated with such acquisitions. Context experience mitigates the negative effect of formal distance and enhances the positive effect of informal distance.

This study contributes to institutional distance literature in multiple ways. First, by bridging institutional economics and organizational institutionalism and second, by examining the heterogeneity of formal and informal dimensions of distance, this study offers a finer-grained perspective on how institutional distance affects acquisition decisions. Finally, it offers a contingency perspective on the role of context experience.

Introduction: The Udaan Scheme was implemented in response to enduring conflict, economic downturn, and employment scarcity. Under the Rangarajan Committee, the scheme aimed to address unemployment in a selected region through skill development programmes. Based on practical experience, Udaan aimed to build a competitive workforce for India and the global economy.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the success ratio of the Udaan Scheme in addressing the employment challenges faced by the youth.

Need of the study: The chapter highlights the potential of the scheme to be a part of a resilient industry for job employability in politically disturbed areas.

Methodology: The compiled data were analysed using a spreadsheet collected from online sources, providing information on the number of registrations for the skill development programme between March 2012 and May 2018, that is, the programme’s implementation in the pre-UT era, mainly sourced from the Udaan Impact Assessment Report and the Review of the Udaan Scheme in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

Findings: The programme, which provided professional training and increased the job-securing capacity of youth, has had a dismal success rate despite the government’s investment of Rs 246 crore. The initiative has employed less than 10,000 individuals, or at most 10% of the target population, falling short of its claimed goals.

Significance of the study in the global market: The scheme addresses unemployment and career development for educated youth, enhancing India’s economic growth and global competitiveness. By providing skill development and exposure to the corporate sector, it empowers youth and attracts international business opportunities. It aligns with global efforts to bridge the skills gap and showcases India’s commitment to human capital development in a conflict-driven state.