Influences of Institutional Distance and MNEs’ Host Country Experience on the Ownership Strategy in Cross-Border M&As in Emerging Economies

Abstract

This article analyzes ownership strategy in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CB M&As) undertaken by the multinational enterprises (MNEs) in emerging economies. We use new institutional economics and organizational learning theories to hypothesize and empirically analyze the influence of formal and informal institutional distance, and MNEs’ host country experience on the MNEs’ choice between full and partial CB M&As. The empirical analysis is based on a sample of 184 CB M&As launched by MNEs in emerging economies. Our empirical results revealed that high formal and informal institutional distances lead to a preference for partial CB M&As; however, MNEs’ host country experience moderated the relationship between institutional distance and the MNEs’ choice between full and partial CB M&As. We found that MNEs with prior investment experience in the focal emerging market opted for full CB M&As over partial CB M&As despite high formal and informal institutional differences.