Family businesses and generational involvement: evidence from cross-border M&As
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7433/s111.2020.09Keywords:
Mergers and acquisitions; Family business; Socioemotional wealth; Generational stage; Family CEOAbstract
Purpose of the paper: Using the socioemotional wealth perspective, this work aims to investigate the family firms’ propensity to join cross-border transactions as acquirers.
Methodology: This work uses the logit regression on a sample of 270 acquisitions whose acquiring firms are represented by family and non-family listed European firms.
Findings: This study finds 1) that family shareholders negatively influence the propensity to make a cross-border acquisition, 2) a positive relationship between later generations and family firms’ likelihood of joining a cross-border transaction as an acquirer, 3) family CEO negatively moderates the relationship sub 2).
Research limits: The limitations are: 1) the period analysed (2015-2017), which restricts the possibility of seizing a greater number of transactions, and 2) the sample of only some European acquiring firms, that restricts the possibility of generalizing results to other countries.
Practical implications: This study suggests that the first generations at the helm of a family firms may need external managers and directors in order to implement strategies of international growth via M&A transactions.
Originality of the paper: This study extends previous literature by exploring the effect of the presence of a family acquirer on the likelihood of making a cross-border transaction and takes into account the roles of generational stage and family leadership.
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