Merged Research Articles

Gaming Equity: Women, Videogame Companies, and Public Discourse

It is by now well documented and widely acknowledged that the videogame industry has since its inception been a bastion of hegemonic masculinity. Only more recently, however, with events like Gamergate, #metoo, and the public accusations of workplace toxicity and sexism brought against prominent AAA giants like Riot and Activision Blizzard King, have game companies initiated policies and processes for change—or at least what looks like change, based on company websites and interviews with female employees. Does this mean women are being heard, at last? These are turbulent times for the industry, with legal actions, policy shifts, personal callings-out and billion-dollar corporate mergers and restructurings. What has changed and what is changing for women in games? How, and by whom, is that change being made? This paper begins with a closer look at what women have said since these events, about their experiences, expectations and frustrations working in the industry. Has the public scrutiny turned upon the games industry, post-gamergate and beyond influenced what women have to say about their conditions and experiences working in games? Are they better supported in taking the risks and shouldering the costs of speaking up? What workplace changes in policy or practice may have resulted from women giving public voice to their experiences? Building upon an earlier study of public speech by women about their experiences in the videogames industry (de Castell & Skardzius, 2019), this study both updates and extends its database, and deepens its analysis, by looking explicitly at a speech event’s context of elicitation: who elicits the “event” of public speech, on what topics, with what purpose? Through that dialogical lens we can make more visible and explicit how minority self-representation and marginalized identities and voices are deployed to bolster business as usual, even as they are still expected to lead the charges and fight the battles for a just and inclusive working life in games.

Corporate mergers and acquisitions: A strategic approach to mitigate expected default frequency

This study investigates the influence of corporate mergers and acquisitions on debt default risk by analyzing a dataset of 14,990 A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2021. The results demonstrate that corporate mergers and acquisitions effectively mitigate expected default frequency, a conclusion that withstands a variety of robustness checks. Through mechanism testing, it's found that mergers and acquisitions alleviate corporate financing constraints and boost information transparency, subsequently lowering debt default risk. The heterogeneity analysis further reveals that this mitigating effect is particularly pronounced in younger companies, those with weaker internal governance, and companies situated in less marketized regions.

Intellectual property protection and M&A performance

This investigation delves into the connection between the safeguarding of intellectual property and the outcomes of corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and the mechanisms underlying this relationship. The research uses yearly data from 2009 to 2022, encompassing A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, and empirically examines how intellectual property protection influences corporate M&A performance. Furthermore, it delves into the intermediary functions of accessing financial, information, and policy resources within this context. The findings reveal that bolstering intellectual property rights (IPR) protection notably enhances M&A performance. This enhancement is particularly pronounced in state-owned enterprises and those with a stronger resource foundation. Additionally, IPR protection indirectly augments M&A performance by facilitating improved access to financial, information, and policy resources for firms. These discoveries offer valuable insights for policymakers and corporate practitioners, aiding in a deeper comprehension of the pivotal role that IPR protection plays in the realm of mergers and acquisitions.

The moderating effects of the industry competition level and industry diversification on the relationship between the transaction price of mergers and acquisitions and corporate value

This study delved into the moderating impact of industry diversification and competition intensity on the relationship between merger and acquisition transaction prices and enterprise value. Using panel data on corporate mergers and acquisitions in Jordan between 2017 and 2022, this study applied a fixed effect model and performed robust regression to test hypotheses. A total of 402 observations for 108 companies were included in the estimation, and year dummies were incorporated into the model to control for year-specific effects. The findings revealed that transaction prices had a significantly negative impact on the firm’s future value. However, this negative effect was mitigated in the opposite direction if the acquirer faced highly competitive intensity. Moreover, in the case of mergers and acquisitions between companies in different industries, this mitigating effect became even more pronounced. The study carries several theoretical implications. It quantitatively demonstrated that the effects of corporate mergers and acquisitions, particularly the effects of transaction prices, influence the corporation’s value. These effects are moderated by the corporation’s competitive environment and the characteristics of the merger and acquisition, including whether it involves companies in different industries. The research also has significant implications for practical corporate merger and acquisition applications. Practitioners should analyse synergies and fair values with target companies and comprehensively consider the competitive intensity of the company's markets that can be effectively accessed through mergers and acquisitions when anticipating the effects of mergers and acquisitions.

Executive network centrality and corporate merger and acquisition efficiency: A governance effect or collusion effect?

This paper empirically analyzes the impact of executive network centrality on corporate merger and acquisition efficiency by constructing an empirical econometric model. The research results show that the enhancement of executive network centrality is conducive to the governance effect, thereby significantly improving the efficiency of corporate mergers and acquisitions. The results of heterogeneity analysis indicate that the role of executive network centrality in enhancing corporate merger and acquisition efficiency is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises and enterprises with political connections.

Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions Under Lender Scrutiny

This paper examines corporate mergers and acquisitions (M and A) outcomes under lender scrutiny. Using the unique shocks of U.S. supervisory stress testing, we find that firms under increased lender scrutiny after their relationship banks fail stress tests engage in fewer but higher-quality M and A deals. Evidence from comprehensive supervisory data reveals improved credit quality for newly originated M and A-related loans under enhanced lender scrutiny. This improvement is further evident in positive stock return reactions to M and A deals financed by loans subject to enhanced lender scrutiny. As companies engage in fewer but higher-quality deals, they also experience higher returns on assets. Our findings highlight the importance of lender scrutiny in corporate M and A activities.

Changing Share Price After Announcement Of The Merger And Acquisitions By Acquiring Firms Is Significant Or Insignificant

This Paper scrutinizes a model of merger and acquisition declaration of different companies in United Kingdom (Home Takeover) region and also other countries (Cross-Border Takeover) during the time period of 01 January 2019 to 30 June 2022 and finally displays the consequence of 50 Home takeover companies (UK companies acquired UK companies) and 50 cross- border companies (UK companies take over foreign companies) to recognize the post effect of merger andacquisition declaration on the stock prices of the target and acquired firms. Event Study Methodology has been used for this study, like, Average Abnormal Returns (AAR) and Cumulative Average Abnormal Returns (CAAR) are used to analyze the different event windows about the stock prices of the target and acquired firms. A paired sample investigation has also been directed by associating the Pre- and Post- announcement returns on stock prices for the event window of ± 5 days of the target and acquired firms. In the event windows, the stock price of the target firm's all is not positive CAAR but pointedly dissimilar from zero. In the home takeover figures, all the AAR and CAAR are not significant and some negative returns after the post-declaration prove about the primary investor's overreaction and efficient market hypothesis (EMH). There is no presence of positive implication in the cross-border pre-event return but only a positive implication returns in the home takeover pre-event return that is also significant at the 10% level.

Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions from the Perspective of Competition Law (A Comparative Study Between Indonesia and Japan)

Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions from the Perspective of Competition Law (A Comparative Study Between Indonesia and Japan)

Valuation of the Fair Market Value of the Shares of PT Link Net Tbk in Connection with the Acquisition of Shares by PT XL Axiata Tbk in 2022 Using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and Abnormal Income Method

Corporate takeover actions (acquisitions) carried out by companies are always in the spotlight of the capital market public, because corporate acquisition actions are classified as material transactions that require very large financing, and it is not uncommon for there to be conflicts of interest in their implementation. However, sometimes there can be cases where a company acquires another company in the hope of gaining synergies but instead incurs losses, which may be due to an unreasonable acquisition price that can harm many parties including the public and shareholders. This can of course be prevented by assessing the performance of the company to be acquired previously and assessing the company's fair market (valuation). This research was conducted to analyze the fair market value of 20% of the shares of PT Link Net Tbk in connection with the planned acquisition by PT XL Axiata Tbk using the Discounted Cash Flow and Abnormal Income methods and to analyze the price offered by PT XL Axiata Tbk to acquire 20% of the shares of PT Link Net Tbk is classified as fair or not. The research results show that in the valuation using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) method, based on the results of calculating the fair market value of 20% of PT Link Net Tbk amounting to IDR 2,795,896 million or IDR 4,882 per share, while in the valuation using the Abnormal Income method, it is based on the results of calculating the value fair market 20% PT Link Net Tbk amounting to IDR 2,602,704 million or IDR 4,545 per share. If we compare the transaction value of the purchase of PT Link Net Tbk shares by PT XL Axiata Tbk which is IDR 4,800 per share, the transaction value is considered fair in both methods, both the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and Abnormal Income methods.

Operating synergy and post-acquisition integration in corporate acquisitions: A resource reconfiguration perspective

We theorize that contingent on whether acquisitions put more emphasis on realizing cost versus revenue synergy, they require different degrees of post-acquisition integration due to their different resource reconfiguration requirements. We use data from 448 US-based acquirers and 1452 domestic acquisitions to find strong support for our theoretical conjecture. On the one hand, we find that for acquisitions that emphasize cost synergy more than revenue synergy, the degree of integration exerts a linear mediating effect on acquirer performance. That is, performance increases as the degree of integration increases. On the other hand, we find that for acquisitions that emphasize revenue synergy more than cost synergy, the degree of integration exerts an inverted U-shaped mediating effect. That is, performance is highest at intermediate degrees of integration. We advance research on post-acquisition integration by first demonstrating the importance of aligning the degree of integration with the synergy rationale in acquisitions (emphasis on cost or revenue synergy) to achieve high acquisition performance. Second, we introduce a novel, replicable approach for empirically operationalizing the degree of post-acquisition integration. We contribute to the resource reconfiguration lens of dynamic capabilities by showing that firms whose managers align the intended source of value creation with their approach to reconfiguration may achieve higher performance outcomes.

Does CFO Board Membership Benefit Shareholders? The Case of Corporate Acquisitions

Does CFO Board Membership Benefit Shareholders? The Case of Corporate Acquisitions

The Endowment Effect in Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions and Its Impact on Merger Premiums

Ignoring income effects and transaction costs, the price individuals are willing to pay for an item should be equal to the price they are willing to sell it for. However, Professor Thaler discovered some "anomalous" phenomena in real life where individuals assign higher value to the items they possess, leading to inconsistency between the "willingness to pay" and "willingness to sell" prices. This phenomenon is often used in the analysis of behavioural economics and is linked to the theory of loss aversion. Thaler explained these anomalies using loss aversion from prospect theory and referred to this phenomenon as the endowment effect. The paper conducts a multiple regression analysis to investigate the existence of the endowment effect and its impact on the M&A premium, using a sample of 425 M&A events in which both parties were US-listed companies from 2010-2018. The results show that the endowment effect exists in the M&A process and significantly increases the M&A premium; the impact of the endowment effect on the M&A premium varies across M&A events in different industries, and the impact of the endowment effect is more prominent in the M&A of companies in emerging industries. It is recommended that acquirers should fully consider the increased M&A costs due to the endowment effect when evaluating target companies; industrial policy makers should consider the impact of the endowment effect on the efficiency of industrial integration.

Transportation networks and competition in the market for corporate control

AbstractResearch SummaryWhile competition in the market for corporate control determines firms' ability to capture value from acquisitions, there is limited evidence of factors that influence such competition. This study explores whether airline routes intensify competition in this market and affect the target's returns. Targets can become better connected to distant latent acquirers (DLAs), which can increase the targets' bargaining power. Similarly, better connectivity can allow acquirers to reach distant latent targets (DLTs) and therefore increase the acquirers' bargaining power. Examining acquisitions between US public companies during 1980–2018, I find that lower travel time between the target and its DLAs increases the target's returns and the number of competing bids. Instead, the travel time between the acquirer and its DLTs does not play a role.Managerial SummaryIn corporate acquisitions, the competitive threat posed by potential alternative acquirers of the target generally forces the focal acquirer to offer high returns to the target to gain its control. Indeed, these transactions are often not profitable for acquirers. Yet, we know little about what determines the competitive threat faced by acquirers in the market for corporate control. This study shows that the presence of airline routes that reduce the travel time between the target and its latent acquirers increases the target's returns from the deal and the number of competing bids. The study also tests whether lower travel time between the acquirer and its latent targets gives the acquirer more bargaining power vis‐à‐vis the focal target. However, there is no evidence of this effect.

Research on Enterprise Combination Accounting

With the development of the global economy and the intensification of competition, corporate mergers have become an important trend in the development of modern enterprises, and accounting, as an important part of enterprise management, has received wide attention. In China, corporate mergers adopt the purchase method and the equity combination method. This paper first compares the purchase method and the equity combination method through literature analysis, and secondly analyzes the financial status and operating results of corporate mergers under the two methods of accounting, and further proposes that the imperfect capital markets system and unreasonable goodwill recognition measurement process have an adverse impact on the accounting under the purchase method, and points out the decline in the quality of accounting information and the possible profit manipulation space under the equity combination method. This paper finds that goodwill is the main reason for the difference between the purchase method and the equity combination method, and for the asset scale and net profit of the merged enterprise, the results calculated by the purchase method are greater than the results calculated by the equity combination method.

Talent Management and Organizational Change in Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions

This paper thoroughly explores the pivotal issues of talent management and organizational change in corporate mergers and acquisitions, along with corresponding solutions. In the realm of talent management, our focus encompasses the evaluation and selection of talents in target companies, cultural assimilation and leadership adjustment, as well as the design of performance management and incentive mechanisms. Regarding organizational change, we analyze change management strategies, organizational structure adjustments, communication and employee engagement, and emphasize the significance of continuous improvement and learning. Through an in-depth examination of relevant literature and real-world cases, we present a series of practical solutions to address challenges that may arise during the merger and acquisition process, such as cultural differences, leadership adjustments, employee uncertainties, and business process integration. Finally, we provide recommendations for future research, including a deeper exploration of cultural differences in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, the impact of the digital era on corporate mergers and acquisitions, and the best practices in different industries and company scales.

Can the improvement of competitive adequacy and fairness reduce discriminatory M&A behavior? Evidence from the market access negative list pilot in China

Corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are subject to skewed logic due to excessive government regulation. China is progressively adopting the Market Access Negative List (MANL) pilot to transfer the power of resource allocation from the government to the market. Using the DID method, we examine the impact of relaxing market access regulation on firms’ M&A behavior against China’s institutional background and the M&A events of listed companies from 2012 to 2019. The MANL significantly increases firms’ M&A tendency and amount and strengthens the competitive adequacy and fairness of market-oriented M&A decisions. Post-M&A financial performance does not increase, but human capital productivity, innovation effectiveness and total factor productivity do, demonstrating the dynamic balance of profit and efficiency in M&As.

Credit risk, debt overhang, and the life cycle of callable bonds

Abstract We show that callable bonds have both higher yields and lower market prices than matched non-callable bonds of the same issuer-time, reflecting the value of call features to issuers and investors. This “value of callability” as well as the inclusion and the exercise of call rights are jointly determined by issuer credit quality. Critically, our agency-based theoretical and empirical analyses show that callability reduces debt overhang in corporate mergers. Our results help explain the value and increasing prevalence of callable bonds in credit markets.

Performance feedback on sales growth and M&A: Evidence from China

This study examines the effects of performance feedback on sales growth relative to social and historical aspirations on corporate merger and acquisition (M&A) decisions and M&A performance. A sample of 924 M&A deals announced by Chinese manufacturing firms between January 2006 and June 2022 is analyzed using logistic regression and multiple linear regression. Robustness tests are also conducted to show that the main results are consistent. We find that (1) negative performance feedback relative to social aspiration motivates acquirers to undertake more risk in M&A-related decisions such as choosing overseas targets and using non-deferred payments in deal structure; while negative historical performance feedback significantly encourages acquirers to choose deferred deal structure. Positive performance feedback does not have a significant impact on acquirers’ choices; (2) In terms of M&A performance, both negative and positive performance feedback relative to social aspiration can have a positive effect on M&A performance; while historical performance feedback cannot affect M&A performance. This paper addresses the heterogeneity of the effects of performance feedback (which is divided into historical and social performance feedback) on firm behavior and contributes to the Behavioral Theory of Firms and Stewardship theory.

A Research on Identification and Prevention of Corporate Financial Fraud Behaviour in the Context of High-Performance Commitment: Taking Aerospace Communications’ Merger and Acquisition of HiPAD Intelligent as an Example

In recent years, there are often high premium acquisitions based on high-performance commitment in corporate mergers and acquisitions. The performance commitment is intended to alleviate the information asymmetry between the two parties of mergers and acquisitions, but the pressure brought by the high-performance commitment often triggers the company’s financial fraud behaviour. This paper will use the case study method to select the classic case of Aerospace Communications merger and acquisition of the HiPAD, in-depth analysis of the merged party HiPAD of the financial counterfeiting means, and corresponding to the identification of signs of financial fraud research. This paper analyses the abnormal signs in the public disclosure information of HiPAD from the unique perspectives of financial information identification and non-financial information identification, parent company and subsidiaries, providing a reference direction for the financial fraud identification path. Finally, it puts forward a universal proposal for the prevention of corporate financial fraud in the context of the pressure of the performance commitment, which provides a feasible method for the similar mergers and acquisitions and high-performance commitment cases.

Analysis of the Risks and Synergies Arising from Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions: Sed on the Case of Greely’s Acquisition of Volvo

Based on the case of Geely’s acquisition of Volvo in 2010, this paper analyzes the reasons for its M&A by applying the SWOT model and analyzes the risks arising from the financial and integration aspects of the company at the time of the M&A, as well as the synergistic effects arising after the M&A, to explore the timing and manner based on which is the most favorable for the corporate M&A. Geely’s acquisition of Volvo is a case of an acquisition of a leading Chinese and European company in a critical industry. By fully exploring and analyzing the impact of various factors on the M&A process, including those involving capital, technology, personnel, culture, etc., as well as the post-acquisition operation and management model, we analyze how to improve corporate competitiveness after the M&A, taking into account the international market environment and industrial logic, and for company leaders in For whether corporate M&A should be carried out, they should understand the strategic positioning and objectives of the company and select objects with strategic significance for M&A. Establish a clear integration plan and objectives, and carefully implement the integration plan after the M&A to ensure the effectiveness of the integration and the implementation effect. Focus on M&A cultural integration, establish a shared corporate culture, and promote collaboration and cooperation among M&A companies to enhance overall value.