Emerging market MNCs' cross-border acquisition completion: Institutional image and strategies

Abstract

This study investigates the negative effect of the home country's institutional image on emerging-market multinational companies' acquisitions, and how these companies can increase their acquisition completion by overcoming this effect. We propose that a foreign acquisition is more likely to be completed if: (1) the acquirer has an extended home base - it has inward internationalization experience, or it acquires through overseas subsidiaries; and (2) it enters institutionally close markets. Using longitudinal data on 13,259 acquisitions between 1996 and 2012 by firms from ten major emerging economies, we empirically test our hypotheses. The findings have important implications for scholars, policymakers and managers.