Chinese Companies'Choice of Post-reverse-M&A Integration Models—A Research Based on the Configuration Analysis of Strategy Tripod Framework
Based on the cases of 76 Chinese multinational firms'acquisition of and integration with firms in developed countries from 2001 to 2017,this paper makes a clear-set qualitative comparative analysis to explore the linkage effects of various factors such as M&A experience,corporate control,corporate ownership attributes,M&A motivation,industry relevance,formal institutional distance,cultural distance,and other factors on Chinese firms'choice of post-reverse-M&A integration models,and further dynamically compares the possible paths for the evolution of different integration models.The study finds that:(1)there are four equivalent paths for"light-touch"integration model choice,i.e.,unrelated M&A with exploratory M&A or experience-led high control M&A in the institutional constraint context,and low control M&A with exploitative M&A or experience-led exploratory M&A in the institutional shortage context;(2)there are two equivalent paths for the"do-nothing"integration model,i.e.,exploitative M&A with a low control motive or unrelated M&A with a resource disadvantage in the context of institutional shortcomings prefer the"do-nothing"integration model;(3)there are three equivalent paths for the"supportive partner"integration model,i.e.,related M&A in an institutional arbitrage context,or M&A experience-driven high-control M&A in a cultural diversity context,or high-control M&A in a cultural diversity context;and(4)there are two equivalent paths for the"re-touch"integration model,i.e.,experience-driven exploratory M&A with high control in the institu-tional arbitrage context or high-control M&A with high control in the cultural diversity context.In the case of institutional arbitrage,the"re-touch"integration model is preferred for experience-led exploratory M&A with high control or resource-advantaged M&A with high control.The findings of this study enrich the research results on post-merger integration model selection and provide practical insights for firms to choose the appropriate integration model.