Study On The Relationship Between Institutional Complexity,industry Correlation And The Time Pattern Of Chinese Enterprises’ Overseas M&A

Time is a scarce and important organizational resource that needs to be actively managed in organizational activities.With the deepening of China’s openness,in order to improve their international competitiveness,it is difficult for Chinese enterprises to achieve complete strategic goals with only one merger and acquisition.Often,a single M&A is often part of a long-term strategic plan,and companies need to achieve their corporate strategy through a series of M&A activities,and plan for a series of M&A activities in the long term.Based on the impact of "time compression is not economical" and "absorption capacity",scholars have confirmed that M&A speed and M&A rhythm are negatively correlated with acquirer performance,so the timing planning of M&A activities affects enterprise performance.However,what are the temporal characteristics of the M&A activities of different enterprises,and what factors affect the timing planning of Chinese enterprises’ overseas M&A activities? Existing studies have not explored these issues,so this article uses this as a starting point to discuss the temporal pattern of overseas M&A of Chinese enterprises and its formation factors.This paper collates the data on overseas M&A of Chinese enterprises in the Thomson Global M&A Database(SDC),and selects nearly 1764 consecutive cross-border M&A samples initiated by 250 Chinese enterprises during the observation period from 1986 to 2017 to answer the above questions.Based on two time dimensions,M&A speed and rhythm,seven M&A time patterns were empirically tested by cluster analysis method.Secondly,through literature combing,the mechanism of institutional complexity and industry nature affecting the time mode of overseas M&A of Chinese enterprises is theoretically constructed.Finally,using a number of logistic regression models,the influence of institutional complexity and industry nature on the time pattern of Chinese enterprises’ overseas M&A is empirically examined.It is found that: firstly,through cluster analysis,this study finds that there are seven main time patterns in overseas M&A of Chinese enterprises,namely,the fast-paced and scattered type,the slow and uncertain prophetic type,the commonplace and cautious type,the multiplying and obedient type,the slow and unpredictable type,the elusive type and the unpredictable type of the unpredictable type,and the prophetic type of the unpredictable type.Secondly,enterprises with high institutional complexity are more likely to choose a time-based time model that follows the rules.Thirdly,compared with the tertiary industry,the speed of continuous cross-border mergers and acquisitions of enterprises in the secondary industry is relatively slow,and their behavior is more predictable,that is,they are more inclined to choose a slow and uncertain prophetic time model;Finally,the industry correlation of M&A positively affects the time pattern of overseas M&A,that is,the lower the industry correlation between the acquirer and the merged party,the slower the pace of M&A and the more stable the pace of M&A.The theoretical significance of the research lies in: first,to study overseas M&A strategy from the perspective of continuous M&A,which provides a new perspective for overseas M&A research;The second is to focus on the time management mode of overseas M&A strategy,enrich and expand cross-border M&A research;Third,the institutional complexity index is constructed,and its impact on the time pattern of overseas M&A is discussed,which makes up for the shortcomings of national distance research.The practical significance of the research lies in: on the one hand,the results of this research can help Chinese enterprises better plan overseas M&A portfolios in terms of time to achieve the best learning effect,so as to improve the performance and quality of overseas M&As,which has important reference and reference significance for the global development of Chinese enterprises.On the other hand,for the Chinese government,understanding the factors affecting the success of overseas M&A of Chinese enterprises,especially how to guide and support Chinese enterprises to effectively learn through policies,so as to improve the quality and efficiency of overseas investment,promote China’s move from a big foreign investment country to a strong foreign investment country,and form a new pattern of comprehensive opening up,is also an important issue that policymakers should pay attention to.This study has the following practical implications: first,"following the rules and following the rules" and "not hurrying and predicting" are the closest to the ideal time mode,which is conducive to improving enterprise performance;Second,enterprises with low institutional complexity should not set M&A targets too limited,frame the targets in the same country or the same institutional environment,and should learn from the experience of others to expand the scope of targets and obtain a larger market share,in order to form an ideal overseas M&A time model;Third,for enterprises in the secondary industry,the speed of mergers and acquisitions should be moderately increased.Be prepared to pass the rigorous legality review as quickly as possible before the merger;Fourth,when enterprises take a diversified strategy to carry out mergers and acquisitions in non-related industries,they should improve their learning ability and efficiency to avoid too slow M&A speed.In continuous overseas M&A activities,Chinese enterprises should ensure that resources are invested in the right place at the right time to effectively achieve their strategic goals,and effective management of M&A activities at the right time is particularly important to achieve their strategic goals.Studying the time structure,it addresses a fundamental question of overseas M&A strategy,that is,how companies act and why companies are different.If the company has only achieved a temporary competitive advantage in the industry,it is especially important to grasp the rhythm of internationalization,because a uniform rhythm can provide managers with enough time to understand and digest the expansion process.Therefore,the research on the influencing factors of time-based M&A mode can provide theoretical basis and reference value for managers of Chinese enterprises when implementing the expansion strategy of cross-border M&A.