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New research on acquisition from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including leveraged buyouts, management challenges that come with growth-by-acquisition, and M&A trends.
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If Your Customers Don't Care What You Charge, What Should You Charge?

by Kristen Senz

Consumer inertia is the tendency of some customers to buy a product, even when superior options exist. Alexander J. MacKay discusses how that habit affects competitive strategy and even regulatory oversight. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Political Influence and Merger Antitrust Reviews

by Mihir N. Mehta, Suraj Srinivasan, and Wanli Zhao

This paper uses a large sample of United States mergers between 1998 and 2010 to study how political connections help firms obtain favorable antitrust regulatory outcomes for mergers. Given that antitrust regulators are subject to congressional oversight, the authors predict and find evidence that outcomes systematically favor firms that are constituents of politicians serving on judiciary committees.

US Antitrust Law and Policy in Historical Perspective

by Laura Phillips Sawyer

Since the late 19th century, American antitrust law and policy has responded to multiple changes: technological advances that have transformed business structures, political imperatives that have reformed regulations and informed prosecutorial discretion, and economic theories that have reshaped the boundaries of government interventions into the economy. Today, antitrust remains a contested field.

Trade Secrets Protection and Antitakeover Provisions

by Aiyesha Dey and Joshua White

The study examines managers’ responses when facing an increased threat of their firm being acquired. Results add to our knowledge of the use of antitakeover provisions, showing that managers, particularly in high-innovation firms, increase certain provisions to protect long-term innovation output in the presence of elevated acquisition risk.

Amazon vs. Whole Foods: When Cultures Collide

by Michael Blanding

Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods seemed a Wall Street dream come true. But then Amazon's data-driven efficiency met the customer-driven culture at Whole Foods—and the shelves began to empty. Dennis Campbell and Tatiana Sandino discuss their new case study. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Private Equity, Jobs, and Productivity: Reply to Ayash and Rastad

by Steven J. Davis, John Haltiwanger, Kyle Handley, Ron S. Jarmin, Josh Lerner, and Javier Miranda

In 2014, the authors published an influential analysis of private equity buyouts in the American Economic Review. Recently, economists Brian Ayash and Mahdi Rastad have challenged the accuracy of those findings. This new paper responds point by point to their critique, contending that it reflects a misunderstanding of the data and methodology behind the original study.

When Negotiating a Price, Never Bid with a Round Number

by Carmen Nobel

Investors who offer “precise” bids for company shares yield better outcomes than those who offer round-number bids, according to research by Petri Hukkanen and Matti Keloharju. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Are Retention Bonuses Worth the Investment?

by Jim Heskett

There is a time and place for retention bonuses but they should be used sparingly, wrote many respondents to this month's column, says Professor Jim Heskett. Others challenged the value of bonuses, and suggested compelling alternatives. (Online forum now closed; next forum begins October 2.) Closed for comment; 42 Comment(s) posted.

The Surprisingly Successful Marriages of Multinationals and Social Brands

by Sarah Jane Gilbert

What happens when small iconic brands associated with social values—think Ben & Jerry's—are acquired by large concerns—think Unilever? Can the marriage of a virtuous mouse and a wealthy elephant work to the benefit of both? Professors James E. Austin and Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard discuss their research. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

by Geoffrey Jones

In a new book, professor Geoffrey Jones looks at Unilever's decades-old transformation from fragmented underperformer to focused consumer products giant. This epilogue summarizes the years 1960 to 1990. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

Not All M&As Are Alike—and That Matters

by Joseph L. Bower

In this Harvard Business Review article, Professor Joseph L. Bower shares some of the results of his year-long study of M&A activity sponsored by HBS. Discover how five distinct merger and acquisition strategies scenarios play out—and his recommendations for success. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.