Shopping as a local: A study of conduit acquisition by multinational enterprises

讲座内容简介：   

Foreign acquirers often encounter severe legitimacy challenges caused by the institutional distance between the home and host countries. In this study, we propose that conduit acquisition, in which an ultimate acquirer initiates a cross-border acquisition through one of its majority-owned subsidiaries already located in the host country, can be used as a strategic response to institutional distance. Invoking institutional theory, we argue that the local presence of the conduit acquirer can help the ultimate acquirer interpret and meet the legitimacy requirements in the host country. This effect is weaker if an ultimate acquirer has alternative sources of legitimacy and is stronger if the acquisition triggers larger legitimacy concerns. Our empirical analyses of 6,365 cross-border acquisitions in the United States from 2000 to 2016 support our hypotheses. We further find that conduit acquisition indeed lowers the deal failure rate and reduces the time to completion. By highlighting the organizational structure of cross-border acquisitions, this study points to a new strategic option for multinational enterprises.

讲座嘉宾简介：  

王诗翔是上海财经大学商学院企业管理系助理教授。王诗翔是浙江大学博士，宾夕法尼亚沃顿商学院联合培养博士。她的主要研究方向是跨国战略和技术创新，她的论文以第一作者或通讯作者的身份发表在管理世界，中国工业经济，Journal of Economic Geography等国内外一流的管理学和经济学期刊上，其研究课题得到国家自科基金、宾夕法尼亚大学CREF基金等多项国内外基金的资助。此外，王诗翔是首届上海超级博士后，并获得过浙江省优秀博士研究生、浙江大学优秀博士毕业论文，两次中国企业管理案例与质性研究论坛最佳论文等学术荣誉。