Title: Cross-border acquisitions and institutional distance: does country connectedness matter?

Authors: Kun Yang; Vigdis Boasson

Addresses: College of Business Administration, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859, USA ' College of Business Administration, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859, USA

Abstract: A cross-border acquisition involves not only overcoming the barriers of geographic distance but also institutional distance (ID). Although the existing literature has devoted considerable attention to various aspects of ID separately, there is little understanding of the potential interactions between the formal and informal aspects of ID. We examine the effects of these two aspects of ID simultaneously on cross-border acquisitions and test their interactions. Meanwhile, we study the traditionally neglected country-connectedness factor and examine its impact on the relationship between ID and cross-border M&As. Our results show that the formal and informal institutional distances do not have the same negative impact on the magnitude of cross-border M&As and that the country connectedness plays a vital role in influencing cross-border acquisitions and shortening ID between the dyadic countries. Our findings provide strategy implications for corporations engaged in cross-border acquisitions.

Keywords: cross-border acquisitions; institutional distance; country connectedness; formal institutions; informal institutions.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2021.115560

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2021 Vol.28 No.3, pp.332 - 348

Received: 18 Jan 2018
Accepted: 21 May 2018
Published online: 10 Jun 2021 *

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