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    Mergers and AcquisitionsRemove Mergers and Acquisitions →

    New research on mergers and acquisitions from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including M&A strategy, when retention bonuses are worth the investment, and what happens when small iconic brands associated with social values are acquired by large companies.
    Page 1 of 13 Results
    • 29 Nov 2022
    • Research & Ideas

    Is There a Method to Musk’s Madness on Twitter?

    by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

    Elon Musk's brash management style has upended the social media platform, but was bold action necessary to address serious problems? Andy Wu discusses the tech entrepreneur's takeover of Twitter.

    • 13 Dec 2021
    • Research & Ideas

    The Unlikely Upside of Mergers: More Diverse Management Teams

    by Lane Lambert

    Mergers shake up the status quo at companies and help women and people of color move up the ladder. Research by Letian Zhang mines data from 37,000 deals. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 14 Jan 2021
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Dog Eat Dog: Measuring Network Effects Using a Digital Platform Merger

    by Chiara Farronato, Jessica Fong, and Andrey Fradkin

    With heated debate over antitrust regulation of online platforms, this study finds that when a larger platform acquired its greatest competitor, users were not better off with a single platform compared with two competitors, despite marked efficiency improvements experienced by the acquiring platform.

    • 30 Nov 2020
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Short-Termism, Shareholder Payouts, and Investment in the EU

    by Jesse M. Fried and Charles C.Y. Wang

    Shareholder-driven “short-termism,” as evidenced by increasing payouts to shareholders, is said to impede long-term investment in EU public firms. But a deep dive into the data reveals a different story.

    • 05 Jun 2019
    • Research & Ideas

    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; 0 Comments.

    • 04 Jun 2019
    • Working Paper Summaries

    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.

    • 30 May 2019
    • Working Paper Summaries

    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.

    • 10 Apr 2019
    • Working Paper Summaries

    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.

    • 25 Jan 2016
    • Research & Ideas

    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; 0 Comments.

    • 03 Sep 2009
    • What Do You Think?

    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; 0 Comments.

    • 15 Dec 2008
    • Research & Ideas

    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 Comments.

    • 28 Nov 2005
    • Research & Ideas

    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 Comments.

    • 02 Apr 2001
    • Research & Ideas

    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 Comments.

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