Geer He, Specially Appointed Assistant Professor, received Alan M. Rugman Young Scholar Award 2023

Organization:
Academy of International Business (AIB)

Award:
Alan M. Rugman Young Scholar Award

Achievements:
“Enhancing entrepreneurial orientation through inter-organizational matching: Insights from advanced market firms under emerging market ownership”

Abstract:
Previous literature on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) of advanced market firms (AMFs) by emerging market firms (EMFs) has suggested how such M&As enable EMFs to strengthen their organizations. By contrast, scant attention has been paid to the organizational changes of the acquired AMFs, and the idea that AMFs acquired by EMFs tend not to change organization-wise prevails. Addressing this research void, this study challenges the mainstream idea of “little or no change” when examining AMFs’ post-acquisition organizational dynamics under emerging market ownership. Qualitatively theorizing from four Japanese firms’ evolutions under Chinese ownership from 2009 to 2022, I found three acquirees experienced a significant enhancement of entrepreneurial orientation (EO), manifested in organizational behaviors. I then comparatively analyzed the changed and unchanged acquirees and proposed that given the pre-acquisition EO gap between the EMF acquirer and the AMF acquiree, such EO enhancement results from an inter-organizational EO matching between the two sides and is reinforced by the acquirer-acquiree power imbalance.