ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

This paper examines the impact of pre-merger operations management of acquiring firms in the manufacturing industry on post-merger performance. While previous literature has studied various factors that influence post-merger performance, relatively little is known about the relationship between pre-merger operational factors of acquiring firms and post-merger performance. Acquirers with better operational performance prior to M&As are likely to show greater M&A outcomes because they can merge target firms’ process and inventories. Thus, we conjecture that acquiring firms with better inventory efficiency and greater supply chain slack will experience higher abnormal operating performance after M&As. Using data on U.S. manufacturing firms’ M&As during the 1981-2015 period, we find that acquiring firms’ inventory efficiency and supply chain slack prior to M&As are positively related to post-merger operating performance compared to their benchmarks’ performance, showing that acquirers’ pre-merger inventory efficiency and supply chain slack are used as a buffer against uncertainty which may arise from M&As. The results suggest that pre-merger operations management of acquiring firms can be an important factor in making M&As successful. We contribute to the literature by providing evidence on the importance of operational factors in M&As.

키워드