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  • deals, in massive number and dollar terms, when so many are deemed to

    Certain of the high percentage of M&A failure, performance academicsinfer that the continued massive levels of transactions can only be explained

    as misguided actions by managers. This chapter believes that the

    performance paradox can begin to unravel if we move beyond simple

    inference of managerial intentions and observe what actually takes place in

    practice. For instance the underlying assumptions of performance

    academics, that; 1) each M&A must create greater value for acquiring

    shareholders; 2) no other reasons for an M&A are legitimate, are not

    adequate for capturing legitimate managerial action in practice. This

    suggests that part of the reason for so many M&A appearing to be failures

    Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions, Volume 6, 77105

    Copyright r 2007 by Elsevier Ltd.

    All rights of reproduction in any form reservedfail? This paradox is central to the study of M&A. Despite considerable

    research effort being devoted to refining and redefining assessments of

    M&A performance the consensus of opinion remains that most M&A fail.MOTIVE ARCHETYPES IN

    MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

    (M&A): THE IMPLICATIONS

    OF A CONFIGURATIONAL

    APPROACH TO PERFORMANCE

    Duncan Angwin

    ABSTRACT

    Why do managers continue to transact merger & acquisition (M&A)ISSN: 1479-361X/doi:10.1016/S1479-361X(07)06004-8

    77

  • frailty for instance, their insistence on transacting M&A might be explainedw

    dto gdi tac gpe och em gbe sonSthen so many are deemed to fail (Hayward & Hambrick, 1997).Addressing the rst question, considerable efforts continue to be devoterening performance measures, in terms of variables used, and usinfferent methods of analysis in order to assess whether these choices affecquirers success rates. Whilst this has had the effect of nuancinrformance results, these renements in themselves have not managed tange the overall picture of M&A, as failure rates remain within the rangentioned above. Substantial efforts have also been directed at movinlow the global picture of M&A to investigate performance for sub-groupis a result of the myopia of performance studies themselves, where

    assumed and simplified motives have resulted in crude categorisations and

    confounded data. These limitations in the M&A performance literature are

    addressed in this chapter by; 1) demonstrating a broader set of motivations

    for M&A; 2) establishing their legitimacy; 3) showing that motivations

    may not be singular in nature but intertwined and complex; 4) presenting a

    way in which this greater complexity may be conceived in order for more

    sensitive empirical tests to be performed.

    INTRODUCTION

    The world is currently witnessing the greatest volume of mergers andacquisitions (M&A) activity ever recorded. This wave is the latest in a serieswhich extend back at least a century, with records identifying a merger wavein the USA beginning in 1897 (Gaughan, 1994). Despite the vast amount oftransactions recorded, a substantial body of analysis of M&A performance,spanning at least 40 years, shows failure rates for acquirers of between 45%and 82% on a wide variety of measures (cf. Kitching, 1967; Jensen &Ruback, 1983; Hunt, 1990; Jarrell & Poulsen, 1994; Mueller, 2003). Thisraises a paradox core to the study of M&A; why do acquiring managerscontinue to transact M&A deals, and on such a massive scale in bothnumber and dollar terms, when so many are deemed to fail?In order to resolve this paradox, researchers have focused attention upon

    two issues: (1) are the performance assessments accurate and (2) mightmanagers be misguided in their motivations?1 Clearly, awed performancemeasurement might vindicate managerial decisions to transact M&A and soresolve the paradox. Similarly if managers are misguided, through human

    DUNCAN ANGWIN78the basis that some types of M&A may perform better than others.rategists in particular have focused attention upon variation amongst

  • M&As in terms of different economic bases for transactions. Although somevariations in performance have been associated with different classicalcategories, these ndings remain contentious (see for instance the long-standing debate over diversication performance reviewed in Grant, 2000).The overall conclusion from hundreds of studies is that most M&A fail, andthat identifying robust differences in performance between differentstrategic classications of M&A is difcult to achieve. With this certaintyof poor performance, the dominant conclusion is that managers musttherefore be misguided in their motivations (cf. Sirower, 1997).The inference that managers must be at fault has caused performance

    researchers to focus upon the second question, why managers might actcontrary to value maximising behaviour? The main explanations aremanagers as agency problem (Jensen, 1986), as exhibiting hubris (Roll,1986), being subject to a winners curse (Varaiya & Ferris, 1987) andgamblers ruin (Wilcox, 1971). Researchers in pyschology and humanbehaviour have helped elaborate on why managers might be awed in theirdesires to engage in M&A (cf. Marks & Mirvis, 2001) with explanationsincluding myopia, bounded rationality, loss aversion (Fanto, 2001).Whilst many case studies now exist of managerial frailty in M&A, it is

    instructive to note that linking managerial characteristics with performanceis rarely tested empirically. This maybe explained by the strength ofthe underlying assumption about what constitutes legitimate M&A; [1]the acquiring company will only engage in M&A where it will increase

    economic value for acquiring shareholders. In other words, it is assumed thatany manager engaging in an M&A which may provide neutral or negativereturns is transacting an illegitimate deal and so is a bad manager. Thissimplistic logic denies the possibility that managerial actions could be in thebest interests of the rm and yet may not result in improved rm value fromthat particular transaction.The assumption of what constitutes legitimate M&A derives from the

    nance discipline and is a deterministic view of how practitioners must act.Its force comes from post hoc assessments of outcomes, of being wise afterthe event, and ignores the ex ante nature of decisions with which managersare faced, of not having knowledge of how things will actually work out.However, it is not the intention of this chapter to engage in the problem oftiming so much as to challenge the core assumption that managers mustonly engage in M&A where they will maximise economic value for the rm.From the standpoint of managerial actions in practice, it will be shown in

    Motive Archetypes in Mergers and Acquisitions 79this chapter that M&A are undertaken which on a single transaction basismay not prot maximising, but are for the good of the rm. From these

  • observations the chapter will show that (1) practitioner motives may not becompletely constrained by assumption [1]; and (2) these other motives maynot necessarily be illegitimate.If one accepts, and as this chapter will argue, that there can be M&A which

    are justiable although not tting entirely within the narrow denition oflegitimacy dened above, then the basis of many performance studies maybeseriously awed. M&A transactions will have been included in calculationswhere the legitimate motivations of management were not focused onincreasing shareholder value per se for instance, but for a purpose which mayarguably have been of greater importance. By including these sorts of M&Asinto performance studies, where the assumption is that all M&A enhance rmeconomic value, success outcomes may have been biased downwards.This chapter argues that current assessments of M&A performance lack

    rich appreciation of motivations for M&A. The myopia of performancestudies, with oversimplication of motives and outcomes by nance,strategy and economics scholars, may in part explain some of the paradoxidentied at the beginning of the chapter. These narrow assumptions haveled to crude categorisations which will have confounded data; where dataare deemed to be the same and therefore able to be aggregated andsubjected to tests, when in fact fundamental differences are present andobscured. Such assumptions, which maybe at odds with a more complexreality, may help explain why so many deals appear to perform poorly inperformance studies and go towards explaining why so many M&A dealscontinue to take place.This chapter presents a richer picture of motivations for M&A to counter

    the oversimplication of legitimate motivations. This more sensitive pictureis closer to actual M&A practice on the ground and raises new questionsover the way in which M&A performance maybe assessed. A moresophisticated view of motivations may cause M&A performance appraisalsto be revised in the light of actual rather than inferred practice and alsohelp unravel the performance paradox.The chapter begins by reviewing classical M&A motivations. Additional

    motivations from a broader literature and managerial practice are thenintroduced and their legitimacy discussed. The atomistic way in whichmotivations are treated is then questioned and the case for motivationalinteraction examined. To represent this complexity a series of motivationalarchetypes is proposed to enable a more accurate reection of managerialmotivations for M&A in practice. They lend themselves to testable

    DUNCAN ANGWIN80hypotheses about different performance outcomes and raise questionsabout appropriate performance measures.

  • (Ravenscraft & Scherer, 1987).The economics literature regards the rm as a homogeneous decision-making unit concerned with maximising long-run protability throughachieving sustained advantage over its rivals. Commonly cited motives inthis literature focus upon rms gaining competitive advantage through costreduction or increasing market power.

    economies of scale, i.e. increasing volume of production reduces unit cost;Four contributions to the M&A literature on performance are made; (1) abroader set of motivations for M&A than is current in the literature ispresented; (2) the legitimacy of these new motivations is established; (3)motivations are shown to be not only singular in nature but also intertwinedand complex; (4) an approach for capturing this greater complexity ispresented in order for more sensitive empirical tests to be performed.

    CLASSICAL APPROACHES TO M&A MOTIVATION

    In this section classical approaches to the reasons why acquires engage inM&A are reviewed. Here classical refers to common approaches tomotivation in the M&A performance literature. These motives can beascribed to the elds of nance, economics and strategy, and share commonassumptions that there are single intentional rational2 motives. The mainmotivations are summarised as follows:The nance literature assumes that shareholder wealth is the goal of the

    rm. Motives are generally one-time gains and include

    reducing the cost of capital. This maybe through scale effects for instanceor through buying a listed company (if a private rm) for instance;

    reductions of tax liabilities,3 tax benets can also be achieved cross-border; adjusting the debt prole of the acquired company;4 asset stripping; acquirers borrow against the cash balances of the target company; accessing cash in the target company to reduce overall leverage; improving stock market measures such as share price/eps/PE; purchasing a bargain, or cheap deal (Wernerfelt, 1984) wherecompanies maybe undervalued. This maybe because acquiring managershave better information about the target than the stock market

    Motive Archetypes in Mergers and Acquisitions 81 economies of scope, i.e. spreading advertising costs across more strategicbusiness units (SBUs);

  • increasing bargaining power along the value chain, i.e. increasing marketpower to capture value from the customer; increasing power oversuppliers to reduce transaction costs.

    The classical strategy literature shares many of the assumptions of theeconomics literature outlined above, although challenges have come frommore recent strategy insights. Classical strategy literature, which maybebroadly described as the positioning school, focuses upon the position of therm in its industry and clearly overlaps with economics described in briefabove. For instance, Porters (1985) work on industry structure straddlesboth domains. Motivations which can be included here include

    overcapacity reductions, where there is overcapacity in the industry thishas a depressing effect upon prices in the market. By purchasingcompetitors and closing them down, this reduces overcapacity and buoysup prices;

    collusive synergies (Chatterjee, 1986), where potential entrants to anindustry are deterred by the potential competition;

    concentric acquisition by a market leader (Steiner, 1975); mutual forbearance (Porter, 1985), where an acquirer deters entrant ofnew competitor into the acquirers market, or affect pricing ability inmutual markets through acquiring in a competitors main market. Thesesynergies represent wealth transfers from the rms customers (Trautwein,1990).

    The strategy literature also overlaps with the nance literature inconsidering the role of risk and return. The main motivation here is oftenreferred to as diversication.

    greater diversity may improve stability of earnings and reduce portfoliorisk (Haspeslagh & Jemison, 1991). This may make a rms stock moreattractive to investors.

    More recently the strategy school has focused upon the unique andvaluable characteristics of a rms resources as the source of sustainableadvantage. As a consequence, motivations are explained in resource-basedterms (Penrose, 1959; Wernerfelt, 1984; Barney, 1991; Dierickx & Cool,1989), where rms consist of idiosyncratic costly-to-copy capabilities theexploitation of which may give a competitive advantage. Firms then can beviewed as a bundle of capabilities, which are immobile, valuable, rare and

    DUNCAN ANGWIN82difcult to imitate or substitute (Barney, 1991) in a highly imperfect market.Such rms may well become acquisition targets as they offer the potential

  • acquiring new capabilities, i.e. knowledge acquisition (i.e. know-how),

    owning innovation (buying entrepreneurial rms);

    acquiring new resources, i.e. unique assets (i.e. brands, patents,intellectual property).

    All of the strategy motivations for M&A above are based upon theassumption that the M&A deal will make the rm better off (Porter, 1987)in a demonstrable way using conventional performance indicators, i.e.reported earnings, share price, market share.The strategy literature has sought to classify M&A deals in order to create

    a more ne-grained appreciation of performance. The classic descriptions arehorizontal, vertical and diversication (Ansoff, 1957; Rumelt, 1982), relatingrespectively to acquiring within ones industry, along the supply chain, andoutside of ones industry or supply chain. These are frequently used inperformance tests (cf. Rumelt, 1982; Singh & Montgomery, 1987). Furtherpermutations on this theme have resulted in further classications ofConcentric M&A, related and unrelated diversication, and other versionsattempt to capture the internal (rather than external) relatedness of mergingorganisations through terms such as related linked and related constrained.More recently categorizations which attempt to cover industry dynamics,product/market overlaps and the overlap of internal unique resources havebeen proposed such as overcapacity M&A, geographic roll up, product andmarket extension, M&A as R&D and industry convergence (Bower, 2001).All of the above reasons for M&A assume rational managerial motivation

    based upon improving rm performance rather than examine motives.Rather than rely upon these largely assumed motivations, and recognisingthat anomalies exist in motivation and performance outcomes, this chapternow examines other motivations which have not been fully recognised or notbeen recognised at all in the M&A performance literature. Some of thesemotivations t within classic assumptions, some overlap and some contradict.

    Other Motivations Recognised in the Literature

    The success bias in performance studies has caused the majority to focusfor acquirers to achieve above-normal economic prots through exploitingvaluable, rare and private synergies between both rms. The motivationscited here include:

    Motive Archetypes in Mergers and Acquisitions 83upon testing the positive and legitimate motivations outlined above.However, there are motivations which are well known, which receive far

  • less attention. The most famous has been inferred by the nance literature asan explanation why M&A fail. It focuses upon managers acting rationally interms of maximising their own benets at the expense of rm welfare andshareholder returns the so-called agency problem (Jensen & Meckling,1976). Managers may also exhibit behaviour which can be described ashubris (Roll, 1986), excessive condence (Hayward & Hambrick, 1997; Ketsde Vries, 1990), which can result in awed decisions such as overpayment.These human frailties are generally offered up as an explanation for whyacquisitions fail, rather than necessarily being tested in its own right,5 orindeed incorporated into performance studies. Additionally, it is important tonote that attributing poor M&A outcome to negative characteristics ofmanagers is an acknowledgement that managers affect outcome and thattheir positive attributes also may have an affect.The sweeping generalisation that the failure of M&A is due to the frailty of

    the human condition has provoked authors to suggest that failure may not beentirely due to subversive motivations and an agency problem. Managersmay also believe that their role is to protect and honour community values(Selznick, 1957). The concept of stewardship (Davis, Schoorman, &Donaldson, 1997), argues that top manager(s) can act out of altruistic intent.Although Davis et al. (1997) ultimately argue that stewardship aligns withshareholders interests, this may not always be the case. Tensions between theagency and stewardship perspectives may result in M&A which underperformin shareholder terms but may benet other stakeholders (Angwin, Stern, &Bradley, 2004). This raises a fundamental issue of whether the nancialmarkets are always best placed to value the actions of top management. Forinstance, an altruistic CEO through deep embeddedness in an industrialcontext maybe expected to be more of an expert on how rms should be runand necessary investment decisions which should be made (such as M&A)than nancial analysts and shareholders far removed from the situation andwith other calls on their time. The CEO may take actions which may notresult in positive shareholders returns in the short run but could be offundamental importance to the long-term success of the rm. This raisesfundamental issues about motivations which are rational but not due tohuman frailty and are not fully recognised in the classical M&A literature.

    UnderRecognised Motivations

    Intentional and Rational Decisions to Acquire

    DUNCAN ANGWIN84The following are acquirer motivations to acquire rms for intentional andrational reasons.

  • Exploration: The vast majority of M&A literature is predicated uponM&A as an exploitative mechanism for achieving gains. The attraction ofthis assumption is that it offers certainty about how gains should beachieved through cost reduction for instance. However, this is to denyM&A as a method for rms to explore (Angwin, 2003). As new territories,markets, knowledge, emerge, there will always be a need to engage inthese areas as rst movers as well as later entrants. By denition there willbe signicant uncertainty, as acquirers cannot know the future. They canform views about whether the potential of an acquisition maybe high, butin new unfamiliar territories (geographic, informational, technological,etc.) the information available maybe extremely unreliable and evenwhere there is information it maybe very difcult to interpret. In cases ofM&A into new territories, it maybe that no one outside of the targetcompany (e.g. early acquirers into China), and indeed in extreme casesinside the rm itself (such as the sell-off of businesses in E. Germany andother former communist countries post-liberation) really knows what thebusiness is like. There are huge question marks over the real state of theacquisition, its potential over time, how the market may evolve or in somecases, whether a market will actually emerge at all. In deal terms, it islikely to be a failure in conventional terms, but over time the deal could behugely signicant in inuencing market development and placing theacquirer in a privileged position for future strategic moves.6 Viewedanother way, not to participate may also have a cost of being late or evenbeing excluded from participation later on.

    Ownership: There is a strong assumption in the M&A literature that M&Ahas to improve returns to shareholders. However, this is to ignoreownership structures other than public companies in an Anglo-Americancontext. Private companies for instance may engage in M&A for reasonsother than maximising shareholder value. Indeed there are many instancesof public companies going private for the very reason that they feel marketpressure for shareholder return harms their businesses, i.e. thwartingcreative endeavours (cf. The Really Useful Group of Andrew LloydWebber).

    Not-for-prot businesses also have different agendas to for-protbusiness. Their concerns are generally for multiple stakeholders withconicting agendas. In many instances the key funder, such as agovernment, may have an agenda for the rm which is not couched interms of protability but more in terms of social good.

    Motive Archetypes in Mergers and Acquisitions 85Countries other than Anglo-Amercian ones can have very differentviews about the purpose of business. The social economic system of

  • Northern Europe has values which are more closely linked to business asa mechanism for improving community. Here the dominance of theshareholder cannot be taken for granted. Indeed in some countries suchas Holland and Germany the employees perspective is enshrined in thegovernance of the rm. Here concerns over worker welfare and jobprotection are important considerations in M&A strategy (Morgan,2007). The experience of foreign acquirers from an Anglo-Americancontext attempting to acquire in these countries on the basis of costreduction through layoffs has often come to grief as employment lawshave thwarted attempts to downsize workforces.

    Affecting competitive dynamics: M&A can be used as a weapon toinuence the actions of other competitor rms. Although recognised insome areas of economic theory and by game theorists, this motivationdoes not feature prominently in performance studies. Here performance isless about the contribution of the target rm to the new parent, but morein terms of the damage done to a competitor. In other words, anacquisition might have a neutral effect upon the parent but may severelyhamper a competitor and so future competition. For instance, whenRowntree was acquired by Nestle for a huge premium, this effectivelyended Suchards hopes of building a stake in the chocolate countlinebusiness, as there were no other viable M&A targets. Suchard wassubsequently acquired itself. Had Nestle lost the contest to Suchard, it islikely they would have had the same problem as Suchard, as they hadfailed repeatedly in-house to move organically into the market area andthere were no other viable targets.7 Thwarting a competitor may preventfurther signicant change or challenge in an industry and also improvestrategic options in the future.

    Innovation stifling: M&A is often used as a way to affect future potentialcompetition. For instance, buying infant rms and closing them downprevents any possibility of takeoff benets which could change industrydynamics. The purchase and closure of these rms may result in a loss tothe acquirer but this maybe substantially less damaging than allowing therm to blossom. This innovation stiing has been seen in the IT andbiotech industries. An alternative to closure is to purchase infant rms sothat the acquirer can control the rate of innovation leakage into anindustry. The acquisition itself may not result in a positive return, butcurrent and future cash ows maybe protected as well as preserving somestrategic options.

    DUNCAN ANGWIN86A private rm maybe acquired to prevent from it from carrying out anIPO or listing on a stock exchange. The acquirers motivation is to

  • prevent the private rm from becoming more tradable and so available tocompetitors. Indeed many pharmaceutical companies have stakes inbiotech for this very reason. These sorts of acquisitions are not likely toresult in enhanced shareholder value but could become signicant in thefuture if they are not purchased in terms of how value might be lost.

    M&A to internalise risk: Although some of the earliest performancestudies examined diversication as a risk-reducing mechanism, this was interms of internal portfolio balance rather than as a mechanism forinternalising exogenous risk. For instance, an argument put forward byCEOs of international banks is that had Western Banks owned morenancial institutions in Asia, the Asian currency crisis may not havehappened. Through direct ownership banks such as Citigroup and HSBC,both of whom have been acquiring aggressively around the world, hope tocontrol external volatility; a source of massive costs in the bankingindustry.

    M&A for critical mass: Although it is well recognised that rms engage inM&A to increase market power for monopolistic benets in the market,there are two other reasons why critical mass can be important (1) smallrms aiming to oat on a stock market or launch an IPO may make aseries of acquisitions simply to grow the rm to a critical size. The prize isthe IPO rather than individual deals which may well not create value inthemselves. (2) In some instances rms will merge in order to createsufcient mass for an industry to takeoff (so not a consolidation M&A inthe traditional sense). This is happening at the moment in the Canadianonline transaction services industry. Through the merger of the twoleading rms, they have managed to increase the adoption rate of thistechnology more rapidly amongst new customers than if they hadremained in competition with each other.

    Multi-business M&A: It is entirely possible that an acquisition may makesense at different levels of a multi-business but may not make sense for therm as a whole and detract from overall strategy. An example might beIMASCOs acquisition of Roy Rogers restaurant chain (Neupert, 1996),where the rational decision from the parents perspective would have beennot to invest in Roy Rogers, as the division was underperforming thegroup and the acquisition would have absorbed resources and still nothelped overall performance. However, from the divisional point of view, itwas clearly the right decision in order to improve competitive position.This raises the question of what is the appropriate way to assess M&A

    Motive Archetypes in Mergers and Acquisitions 87performance for multi-businesses as the acquiring group share price mayfall on announcement and yet protability at the divisional level may rise.

  • M&A as self-protection: More M&A is the result of fear of takeover thanis widely admitted and there is an assumption that by making the rmlarger, it is in some way less vulnerable to acquisition itself. Although thissort of acquisition is recognised, it is rarely discussed in the literature. Avariant which is not discussed at all, relates to recently privatised rms.The vast majority tend to embark on cross-border M&A in order toprotect themselves against re-nationalisation. These acquisitions may notbe successful in classical terms, but may create sufcient obstacle forpolitical attempts to re-nationalise them to fail. Examples includeprivatised utility companies in the UK.

    M&A as influence: A case made famous in Japan was the acquisition byLivedoor of NBS (Japan Times, 2005). The purpose of this acquisitionwas to gain power over Fuji TV, in which NBS was a leading shareholder,and through this have power in the Fujisankio Communications Group.The acquisition was about achieving inuence elsewhere and was lessfocused upon benets being achieved in the immediately acquired rm.

    M&A to win political favour: Sometimes acquirers engage in an acquisitionspecically to win political favour, even though this may not result inconventional direct economic benet to the rm. However, these actionsmay lead to favourable opportunities in the future. Examples includeforeign acquisitions into China, where conventional wisdom is that theseactions may lead to the building and developing of trust which can bemost useful in gaining future benets, and also the activities of Chineseacquirers in the US.

    Sequential M&A: Linked to the exploration motivation described above,in some instances rms make small M&A in order to learn andunderstand a sector, perhaps as a prelude to a later larger acquisition(or other forms of entry). This is common practice amongst Japaneserms in cross-border M&A. Although the original acquisition may wellperform poorly in economic terms, the benets of preparation for moresubstantial activity can be substantial.

    Firms may engage in a series of M&A in order to achieve a particularstrategic position. Whilst individual M&A may not appear successful, thewhole sequence may bring signicant rewards, perhaps by achievingmarket leadership for instance. This approach to serial acquisition meansthat acquirers will view acquisitions as a portfolio of investments ratherthan on a deal-by-deal basis. This is similar to the way venture capitalists(VCs) and start-up funds evaluate their portfolios where one huge success

    DUNCAN ANGWIN88outweighs several failures.

  • coherent rational decision from top management as they can result frompolitical processes within the rm (Trautwein, 1990). A myriad of

    Motive Archetypes in Mergers and Acquisitions 89impulses from within the rm may result in the whole being put onto anacquisition footing resulting in an acquisition far removed from originalimpulses. Although this internal process view has received somerecognition, the M&A performance literature generally persists inassuming that top managements make coherent rational decisions.

    The negotiation process itself is also ignored in performance studies. Amultitude of deal congurations are possible (Angwin, 2001) which maydistort original intentions and can affect ultimate results (Jemison & Sitkin,1986; Smith, 2007). Here there can be distorting affects from the personalitiesof the protagonists, actions of competitors, regulatory and competitionauthorities and a range of other stakeholders. Where there has beensignicant research into M&A process is in the post-acquisition phase.Disruption of integration plans have been attributed to employee distressthrough culture clash (Nahavandi & Malekzedah, 1988; Cartwright &Cooper, 1992) and difculties in integrating and redeploying embedded andless tangible resources (Nelson &Winter, 1992). Whilst there is some evidencethat researchers are now linking personality, affect and motivation (PAM)variables to performance (cf. Capron, 1999), these are still few on the ground.The external process of M&A decisions has been virtually ignored in

    performance studies. The evidence for these non-planned events includehostile battles between two rms where a third company maybe approachedas a potential white knight and so be drawn into the fray; the spoilingactions of competitors causing regulators to examine deals which mightotherwise have gone through (i.e. iSoft/Torex); competitor actions innegotiating side deals for parts of assets and so distorting the originalbalance of the deal (i.e. the actions of UK supermarkets when Morrisons bidfor Safeways).

    IMPOSED MOTIVATION

    There are motivations which can be imposed upon rms from externalNegotiated and Political Decisions to Acquire

    M&A as process: Internal motivations may not be the result of asources.

  • Customer/supplier pressure: In some instances powerful customers orsuppliers can force rms into making M&A. For instance, in the ITindustry Nokia brought pressure to bear on one of its suppliers topurchase a high tech rm as they wanted aspects of this technologyintegrated into the components they were sourcing, but they did not wantto purchase the rm themselves. The supplier, wanting to keep its mainclient had no choice. It may not have beneted from the actual M&A butto lose Nokia as its primary customer would have been a far worse fate.

    Competitor actions: The actions of a competitor may precipitate a rminto engaging in M&A. It is well known that when an industry begins toconsolidate there is a rush of other rms to follow suit, i.e. UK Banking,professional services rms, oil companies, steel businesses. Arguably,the motive here is fear of being taken over. There is evidence thatmedium-sized rms are likely targets in consolidating industries and thispattern appears to exist across different industries. Engaging in M&A inthis situation maybe more about self-preservation and living to ghtanother day than achieving substantial post-acquisition benets throughintegration.

    Financial community: Financial institutions can exert considerable pressureupon rms to merge either through fear or offering opportunities. It is notunknown for VCs to bring signicant pressure upon a rms management,in which they have investments, to make M&A deals in order to grow therm rapidly, perhaps as a prelude to otation or IPO. Here growth is goodin itself so increase in scale is more important than other success measures.VCs are also known to use the threat of M&A as a stick to beat rms inwhich they have investments. The nancial community is also subject tofads and fashions and there are times when M&A is heavily encouraged,either positively through direct encouragement, or negatively through thefear of takeover.

    Political persuasion: Central governments can bring substantial pressureto bear upon top managements to act in ways which would further thenational interest. For instance, in France there has been substantialpressure upon utilities rms to merge rather than accept approaches fromItalian and Spanish rms. Many of the large utilities deals in Europereflect a confluence of interests between companies and governments eager

    to create national champions that can fend off hostile offers from foreign

    companies. The proposed Suez-GDF merger is one such example: it is a

    direct response to rumors in late 2004 that Italian utility Enel might make a

    DUNCAN ANGWIN90hostile offer for Suez. The business rationale for the merger remains vague

    (Energy Business Review online, 2006). When the Government is a major

  • shareholder in a rm and tells them to make an acquisition as it is in thenational interest, the acquisition is a success in these terms, although itmay underperform in conventional economic and nancial terms. Olivettiwas encouraged to acquire Telecom Italia (TI) to prevent it falling intoGerman hands as the Italian government, which owned a golden share inTI and could block any takeover, was itself unhappy about the merger with

    the German company (BBC News online, 1999). Post-deal, Olivetti washeavily indebted and its share price fell.

    At the moment, the Central Bank of Nigeria is forcing the majority ofNigerian banks to merge in order to improve the robustness of thenancial system. Although rms can seek partners from this limited pool,it is clear that individual banks will fail (as their banking licences will notbe renewed) if they do not merge. Although individual mergers may not beso successful for individual banks, as there is plenty of evidence that therewill be very signicant integration costs with problematic redundancydecisions, it may well be a case of losing the battle and winning the warfor merging banks. They will be able to renew their licences and, withfewer larger players and more marginal players excluded, be part of amore manageable, efcient and robust nancial system. In China, thegovernment is also active in forcing underperforming and often heavilyindebted Semi-State Owned rms (SOEs) to actively nd overseas mergerpartners for re-invigoration. This means the companies which China isactively putting forward for merger are not in good health and are likelyto result in less than successful deals for foreign partners in the short term.However, if a foreign rm wishes to enter this rapidly growing market, thebigger long-term gain in new connections and new opportunities mayoutweigh the short-term costs.

    Social, ethical, environmental pressures: The rise of what maybe looselytermed Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) captures a wide range ofpressures upon rms to operate responsibly in society. This followsgrowing belief that certain business practices are damaging to society andothers, if unchecked, will cause irreversible damage to the environment,i.e. pollution leading to global warming. These varied pressures includeethical dealings with all stakeholders (i.e. employees, customers,suppliers), adopting environmentally sound policies (i.e. waste disposal,carbon emission) for instance. The way in which rms are beinginuenced by these pressures are through media-driven shaming and thecampaigning of activist groups. These can severely damage a rms

    Motive Archetypes in Mergers and Acquisitions 91reputation and share price. There are also increasing direct controlsthough legislation and prosecution. The impact upon M&A has been in

  • certainty of improving returns to the acquirer; (3) stasis attempting topreserve the acquirers competitive situation through fossilising or closing

    down the acquired rm (few if any direct benets are extracted from theacquisition itself); (4) survival attempting to prevent the acquirersdemise through acquisition the acquisition may result in the acquirerlosing value, but this maybe better than not acquiring at all.8 In their pureforms the payoffs for these different types of M&A is different (see Table 1).From exploitation deals there should be reasonable certainty about valuecreated. Exploration deals may have the potential for much greater returnsthan exploitation deals as well as much higher risk about whether thosereturns will be achieved and how far into the future. For stasis deals theacquirer may not receive any direct benet, with neutral or even mildlynegative returns but the negative threat of severe future change maybesome instances to increase post-acquisition costs in order to achievecompliance or anticipate future CSR pressures. It has also resulted inM&A taking place in areas where these pressures are currently non-existent or low in order that acquirer activities in highly pressurised partsof the world might be reduced or closed down. More positively rms dopurchase socially responsible rms in order that the reputational effect ofthe specic acquisition may improve the overall reputation of the acquirer.It may make sense to carry out a small acquisition which generates littlenancial benet if it has the effect of reducing CSR and activist pressure,or the potential for these pressures, upon the acquirer as a whole.

    A TYPOLOGY OF FIRM LEVEL MOTIVES

    The previous sections have highlighted a number of reasons why M&A maytake place which are underrecognised or ignored in the M&A literature. Afew of these might be located within the classical approach, althoughrequiring different methods of evaluation, i.e. serial acquisitions requireaggregate rather than single deal measurement. Most of the motivationspresented here, however, show broader and more complex concerns thanjust increasing rm value per deal. Overall the reasons can be grouped intofour categories: (1) the exploitation of the target through synergies toincrease acquirer value with a high degree of certainty; (2) exploration acquiring in new areas for potential value and future opportunities with low

    DUNCAN ANGWIN92reduced. Survival deals are not so much about increasing value as tosurvive potential takeover threat or current demise of the rm. For stasis

  • Exploitation Classical motivations Maximise shareholder return

    Building critical mass Aggregate deals to achieve critical size forcredibility and nal payoff (i.e. IPO, listing)

    Exploration Sequential Assembling a long-term industry/market

    position for long-term payoff

    Learning Small deal(s) to build understanding for later

    potential large investment (and payoff)

    Reinvigoration Find new potential markets/products /

    technologies/ideas for future growthTable 1. Motivation Types and Payoffs.

    Motivation

    Categories

    Motivations Payoffs

    Motive Archetypes in Mergers and Acquisitions 93and survival type deals, value creation maybe an inappropriate way ofviewing performance. Instead we propose a worse off test; [2] would theacquirer be substantially worse off if they did not transact a particular

    acquisition? To have a break-even deal and survive to ght again could be agood outcome.

    MULTIPLE MOTIVATIONS

    Whilst it is appealing to researchers to be able to categorise M&A into singlemotives or single categories such as horizontal, vertical or diversied to aidanalysis, analytical convenience does lead to oversimplied assumptions ofwhy M&A are transacted. It is highly unlikely that top management views

    Inuence Indirect control of other assets for potential

    benets

    Political favour Future indeterminate benets

    Stasis Innovation stiing Prevent deterioration of competitive situation

    Damage competitors Prevent competitors from presenting a threat in

    the future

    Customer/Supplier

    driven

    Engage in M&A to preserve/maintain

    relationships

    Survival Self-protection Size as a defence against predations

    Regeneration M&A as passage to more promising industry/

    area

    Political/Institutional Cope with imposed M&A as least worst

    outcome

    CSR M&A in anticipation of potentially

    fundamental changes in the way business

    must be conducted

  • post-acquisition. Pre-deal, multiple reasons for an M&A may appearattractive and perhaps indicate rich opportunities to shareholders, but post-

    acquisition these wishes may conict at a fundamental level and socompromise performance. For instance, an acquirers stated motives maybeprimarily to build market share and also to achieve substantial costreductions through economies of scale. However, it is not unusual in thepost-acquisition period for the latter to come to dominate when anticipatedsavings are slow to materialise and hopes of building market share vanish(cf. Mueller, 1985; Anand & Singh, 1997). Within gross categorisations suchas horizontal M&A it is likely that there are many acquisitions which arenot pure and contain elements of paradoxical motives. Post-acquisitionintegration attempts to realise all benets will most likely struggle.In order to reect the complexity of multiple motives, the main types of

    M&A identied in the previous section have been combined in Fig. 1 so forinstance an exploration M&A may also contain elements of exploitation, orsurvival may contain elements of exploitation and exploration.Motives do not occur in a vacuum and the context serves to frame and

    determine, through institutions, the acceptable types of M&A that may takeplace. Affecting all parties involved in M&A is the distorting role ofprocess, internally and externally to the rm. This may work to undermineclear motivations as well as to result in creative and innovative outcomes.

    MOTIVATION SUMMARY

    There are far more motivating factors in M&A than are really captured byperformance studies which tend to focus on single items or, in the strategyliterature resort to broad single categories. This is to judge M&A innarrower terms than is warranted as signicant motivations are overlooked,their complexity grievously underestimated and the role of context andacquisition in such crude terms. Indeed in a survey conducted in 1999 of theCEOs of 100 domestic acquirers in the UK (Angwin, 1999, 2000), an openended question about their motivations for carrying out a specic M&Atransaction elicited up to seven distinct reasons in some instances, 45% gavethree or more distinct reasons and 71% of CEOs gave two or more reasons.9

    On this basis single motivations for M&A are unlikely. Multiple motivesmay result in conicts in how different requirements might be reconciled

    DUNCAN ANGWIN94process largely ignored. These omissions may mean the results ofperformance studies maybe biased as many deals are being assessed on

  • Context(s)Exploitation

    Classical motivationsCritical mass

    StasisDamaging competitors Innovation stifling Internalising risk

    ExplorationNew territories / products/

    technologiesTo learn

    Influence Political Favour Multiple M&A

    Multiple motivations

    Process

    Motive Archetypes in Mergers and Acquisitions 95bases which were never the main intention of top management in the rstplace. In summary

    1. there are types of acquisition which have been ignored in performancestudies;

    2. complexities in motivations mean conventional categories of M&A aretoo simple;

    3. overly simplied views of M&A motivations may have resulted indistorted views of performance;

    4. strategists need a better framework for capturing actual motivationsrather than impugned ones.

    This also raises the issue of whether the additional motivations in thischapter are legitimate and who decides? The answers to these questions arecontext dependent as certain stakeholders, their preferences and prioritieswill vary depending upon different socio-economic-political systems.

    SurvivalAccommodate pressures Institutional (political, financial Competitive CSR

    -

    -

    -

    Fig. 1. Multiple Motives in M&A.

  • DUNCAN ANGWIN96However, to test M&A performance, this chapter argues that managementsacquisitions should at least be judged in terms of what they were trying toachieve rather than imposing assumptions and then attacking a straw manfor failure. There is a great deal more innovation and creativity in M&Athan managers are given credit for and they are not constrained by neatacademic prescriptions. On this basis all motivations should be included intesting performance rather than just assuming all acquisitions t a narrowset of imposed terms.Care is required for eliciting actual motives as those reported, in offer

    documents, public statements, even surveys, maybe designed for publicconsumption and to comply with legal and institutional requirements ratherthan representing the full or, in some cases, even the real reasons foracquisition (Angwin, 2003) (Fig. 2). Researchers will not nd top manage-ment in print saying that they are carrying out M&A because they thinkthey should experiment and have little idea of how it will work out, or thatthey have a hubristic CEO, or because they are terried of being acquired.Instead the reported motivation will be classically described in the legitimatelanguage of economics and nance with broad intent to improve nancial

    Fig. 2. Ways in Which Actual and Reported Motivations May Combine.

  • Agency problemEach dimension is envisaged as a continuum where a mixture of motivesand pressures is more the norm than the extremes. To operationalise thesereturns (Trautwein, 1990). To gather information on motivations thereforerequires careful and in-depth data collection.

    MOTIVATION ARCHETYPES

    In addition to classical motivations for M&A and their meta-categories,attention has been directed to (1) motivations which are recognised and notassessed; (2) motivations which are unrecognised and; (3) distorting effectswithin and upon motivations. As motivations are likely to be a mix offactors, there is a need to create archetypes to reect this closer view ofreality. With these archetypes, hypotheses can be generated about theconguration of motives which may result in superior outcomes and thosewhich maybe damaging.In order to generate archetypes the dimensions along which these may

    exist needs identication. The dimensions chosen here are; (1) acquiring rmlevel motives: are these dominantly classic value maximising motives aimedat improving shareholder value through enhanced competitiveness in theshort term or more about creating opportunities through exploration, orstasis and survival measures? (2) the extent to which external contextualdrivers are powerful or weak and whether they are consonant or dissonantwith the acquiring rms competitiveness; (3) the extent to which topmanagement are acting selessly on behalf of the rm and investors, orwhether they are more interested in their own benets the classic agencyproblem.

    (1) Acquiring rm motives value maximising behaviour (exploitation) non-value maximising (exploration, stasis, survival)

    (2) Contextual drivers Consonant Dissonant

    (3) Top management Agent

    Motive Archetypes in Mergers and Acquisitions 97axes a careful exercise of weighting each motivation in relation to others willneed to be carried out.

  • 8.

    7.

    4.

    6.

    5.

    1.

    2. 3.

    nbid

    den

    cont

    extu

    al d

    river

    s

    nant

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    M&A Motivational Archetypes

    DUNCAN ANGWIN98Using these three dimensions, eight archetypes can be identied (Angwin,2006, see Fig. 3).10 To illustrate how these archetypes might affect classicaldescriptors, it is possible for instance to see a horizontal type of acquisitionin each of the boxes, but as the subsequent discussion will show, theanticipated outcomes are likely to vary substantially.

    Type 1: This is the classic type of M&A and one assumed in the performanceliterature. Here the rm is conducting M&A on the basis of rational valuemaximising strategies, such as cost reduction, to enhance shareholder value.The top management are acting as good agents and the contextual driversencourage this sort of M&A. This type of M&A can reasonably be expectedto succeed in conventional terms.

    Type 2: Contextual pressures in this type maybe at odds with the rmswishes to maximise shareholder value. In this type there maybe conictbetween rm and top manager rational value maximising motivations and

    U

    Cons

    o

    Age

    nt A p

    rTo

    p m

    an m

    otiv

    Non-maximisingSurvival/exploratory

    Classicalvaluemaximising

    Firm level motivations

    Dr Duncan Angwin (2006)Fig. 3. Motivational Archetypes.

  • those of the context. Although the merger will be conducted in classicalterms, it may well be very difcult for the acquiring rm to do well out of thedeal. For instance, in 1988 the British Government encouraged BritishAerospace (BAe) through a cash payment to take over the ailing British carmanufacturer, Rover group, to avoid a political problem of foreignownership and large job losses. There were no synergies between thebusinesses and BAe subsequently divested the business as soon as it could.11

    Type 3: Contextual factors maybe at odds with classic rm motivations butmaybe accommodated if the rm is motivated by non-maximising motives.There could be tension with a top management focused upon shareholdervalue in the short term. It is unlikely that the acquisition will succeed inconventional terms but maybe benecial long term. Examples might includea recently privatised rm fearing re-nationalisation, embarking on anacquisition spree to protect independence, or an acquirer, under increasingethical pressure from a vocal context, making an acquisition to avoid likelycensure in the media.

    Type 4: Contextual factors set conditions for classic M&A and topmanagement are aligned with this pressure. However, the returns maybe inthe future, requiring exploratory M&A. For instance, business maybeanticipating the convergence of industries/technologies, which suggestprotable opportunities in the future. M&A in this situation may notrealise short-term returns, and is likely to be risky, but may also result insignicant long-term benets. Examples here might include M&A into newgeographic markets such as China, or acquiring technology companies inanticipation of technological convergence. In conventional terms theseM&A are likely to underperform.

    Type 5: Contextual pressures may pressure the acquirer into deals which donot t with classical rm motives and there is also an agency problem. Thelatter may result in a deal which suits top management and addresses thecontext, but is unlikely to benet the rm in conventional terms. Anexample here would include rms which are caught up in an M&A fashionand over acquire, i.e. Enclean, where their rate of acquisition accelerated toplease the markets, the top management thrived on the deals (rather thanday-to-day management) and the expansion went beyond the capabilities ofthe rm.

    Type 6: Contextual pressures maybe propitious for M&A in terms of

    Motive Archetypes in Mergers and Acquisitions 99maximising rm value. An agency problem may mean that top managementseek to benet personally from the deal, although this does not exclude the

  • possibility of the deal being successful. The acquisition of Blue Circle byLafarge is an example of the acquirer seeking to achieve global dominancethrough acquisition and enhance protability through economies of scale. Itwas widely suggested that the CEO of the acquirer was an example of anagency problem as he occupied the ofces of chairman and CEO and wasseen to overpay for the rm. The deal was regarded as a success.

    Type 7: Contextual pressures maybe counter to the rms classical motives,but could t with exploratory motives. For instance, the interest in globalwarming could provide rms with the opportunities to acquire prototypeenvironmentally friendly technology in anticipation of this trend continuing.An agency problem does give top management scope to benet personallyand so it is unlikely that such a deal would bring benets to the rm.

    Type 8: Contextual pressures maybe favourable for M&A by the rmalthough the rm maybe motivated by non-maximising outcomes. This mayenable the rm to engage in speculative acquisitions with low-commercialrational. They maybe encouraged by top management where there is anagency problem.Based upon this set of archetypes different sorts of outcomes are apparent.

    Importantly, it is clear that only a few archetypes can be described asclassically oriented towards improving shareholder value. Most of thearchetypes are likely to result in underperformance in conventional terms.Studies which therefore treat all M&A as homogeneous are including thosewhich are not designed primarily to achieve these gains, and so results arelikely to be biased downwards. A more rened approach to M&Amotivationscould potentially result in quite different results. Many testable hypotheses arepossible from this approach and the following are not exhaustive:

    Hypothesis 1. Acquirers acquiring in a propitious context with topmanagers acting as agents (Archetype 1) will exhibit higher levels ofperformance than other archetypes in conventional terms.

    Hypothesis 2. Acquirers acquiring in propitious conditions with topmanagers acting as agents but using exploratory types of M&A(Archetype 4) are likely to underperform short term, but may achievesubstantial long-term gains.

    Hypothesis 3. Acquirers acquiring in dissonant conditions, with top

    DUNCAN ANGWIN100management exhibiting an agency problem, and acquiring in an exploratoryway (Archetype 7) are likely to be less successful than other archetypes.

  • CONCLUSIONS

    Studies of M&A performance in the strategy literature have tended to use abroad typology of assumed motivations for deals. The results of theseperformance studies have led to ambiguous results. This chapter argues thatone reason for this confusion is due to imposing crude categories uponM&A, from which simple assumptions about intentions and benets aredrawn rather than using real motives. The link which is being tested istherefore between abstract categories, and performance rather than realmotives and intended performance. For example a horizontal acquisitionmaybe authentic in classical terms, with coherence between context,management and rm aims, or for instance, simply a label, or legitimatingterm which disguises real intentions. Without the link to what is actuallyintended, the data in performance studies maybe confounded.This chapter identies a number of reasons for M&A which have been

    underrecognised in the literature and some of which do not t neatly withclassical prescription. These motivations highlight different pressures uponrms to engage in M&A and need to be recognised in order for morecomplete understanding of why rms embark upon these deals.The chapter also argues that single motives for deals are rare and multiple

    motives more the norm and that these motives are not necessarily inalignment. To capture this complexity, three dimensions are identied. Theygive explicit recognition to differences in rm motivations (recognising thatnot all deals are about prot maximisation and important types of deal areabout exploration, survival and stasis); contextual pressures imposingmotivations (consonant pressures which might encourage deals for protand dissonant pressures which might be contrary to classical prescriptions,such as governmental interference); top management intentions (whichmaybe to maximise prots for shareholders or work for personal gain at theexpense of shareholders).From these three dimensions, eight archetypes are identied along with

    outcomes in classical performance terms. It can be seen that in only twoarchetypes are there good reasons to suspect that all M&A should succeed indirectly enhancing acquirer performance. The other archetypes suggestaggregate underperformance in conventional terms although longer termmany individual deals may witness impressive outcomes. If performancestudies are examining M&A as homogeneous in these terms, is it anywonder that so many appear to underperform?

    Motive Archetypes in Mergers and Acquisitions 101Does this mean that the other archetypes identied are not legitimateforms of M&A if they are not maximising value for shareholders? Clearly

  • motives. For this reason it is highly likely that there are fewer classical M&A

    in practice that there are in public. However, if we are really to get to gripswith how M&A perform, the complex motivations behind M&A need to berecognised and examined (Angwin, 2007). A more sensitive appreciation ofthe real reasons whyM&A is carried out may well help resolve the paradox ofwhy so many deals are transacted when so manyapparently fail.

    NOTES

    1. Motivations in this chapter is taken in its broadest sense to be reasons andimpulses for acquirers to engage in M&A. It therefore includes external pressuresupon acquirers and their top management from different contextual layers (such asinstitutional and competitive inuences), as well as in-rm socio-political dynamics.It also includes the individual motivations of executives inuential in makingacquisition decisions.2. Rational from the managers point of view.3. This maybe through judicious application of tax loss carry forwards from the

    target rm, tax treatment of goodwill, or other special tax treatment, and inleveraged acquisitions the transfer of value through reduction in the cost of capitalbase on the tax deductability of interest.4. In turnarounds, higher risk debt maybe renegotiated down by providing

    guarantees (Haspeslagh & Jemison, 1991).5. The author is aware of just one study that seeks to test explicitly for managerial

    hubris Hayward and Hambrick (1997).6. It is this issue which recent developments in real option valuation arethis maybe the case with Archetype 7, where top management has signicantopportunity to exploit a propitious situation to personal advantage at theexpense of the rm. However, the other archetypes offer more complexsituations such as whether it is right to experiment and explore for futuregain, or whether it is right to accede to governmental pressure which maybevital for survival. In these situations rms maybe signicantly worse off thanif they do not engage in M&A. To highlight rms efforts to preventpotential/actual deterioration, a worse off test is proposed.Why is it not more apparent in M&A research that there are greater

    complexities in motivation? First, it is convenient for researchers to use broadsecondary categories than to attempt to identify the variables highlighted inthis chapter. Also in defence of the researcher it is important to note thatpublic deals have to convince a broad audience that they are in the rms bestinterests. For this reason public pronouncements about M&A will always bein a legitimate language and will downplay other less acceptable/recognised

    DUNCAN ANGWIN102addressing. However, this technique falls short of really capturing the essence ofexploration through M&A.

  • Angwin, D. N., Stern, P., & Bradley, S. (2004). The target CEO in a hostile takeover: Agency or

    stewardship can the condemned agent be redeemed? Long Range Planning, 37(3),

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    Barney, J. (1991). Firm capabilities and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of

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    BBC News Online. (1999). Business: The company le: Olivetti conquers telecom Italia. BBC

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    Bower, J. L. (2001). Not all M&As are alike and that matters.Harvard Business Review, 70(3),

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    Capron, L. (1999). The long term performance of horizontal acquisitions. Strategic Manage-

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    Cartwright, S., & Cooper, C. L. (1992). Mergers and acquisitions. The human factor. Oxford:

    Butterworth-Heinemann.7. The only other targets were not freely traded (with shares held in charitabletrusts) or with small exposure to the market area in their overall portfolios.8. Survival could be said to underlie all rms strivings, but here it is meant in

    terms of avoiding a terminal situation.9. Distinct means reasons which are not reasons which could be interpreted as

    coincident.10. Please note that the precision of the boxes is not intentional but more a

    limitation of the graphics available to the author zones with overlaps would becloser to the authors ideals.11. It is noteworthy that this acquisition is not mentioned on BAes website which

    lists its M&A activity.

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    Motive Archetypes in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): The Implications of a Configurational Approach to PerformanceIntroductionClassical Approaches to M&A MotivationOther Motivations Recognised in the LiteratureUnderRecognised MotivationsIntentional and Rational Decisions to AcquireNegotiated and Political Decisions to Acquire

    Imposed MotivationA Typology of Firm Level MotivesMultiple MotivationsMotivation SummaryMotivation ArchetypesConclusionsNotesReferences


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