Reshaping M&A research: Strategies and tactics for a new research agenda

Olimpia Meglio

European Management Journal, 2022, vol. 40, issue 6, 823-831

Abstract: I apply a cognitive perspective to understand how primary cognitive mechanisms—simplification, elaboration, and interaction—have influenced the way scholars, as individuals and as a community, have queried acquisitions so far. While cognitive mechanisms have played an important role in advancing our grasp of acquisitions, they have also favored the emergence of hidden, taken-for-granted assumptions, eventually resulting in reproducing the same lines of reasoning, applying the same stock of methodological and theoretical approaches, often with a marginal contribution to our understanding of the field. To remedy this state of affairs, I propose a framework that encompasses four strategies and a set of tactics to assist scholars in challenging hidden assumptions, playing with ideas, considering context in acquisitions, and rethinking theoretical frameworks. I contrast established perspectives with novel ones to build a research agenda.

Keywords: M&As; Acquisitions; Cognitive mechanisms; Gap-spotting research; Novelty; Hidden assumption; Research agenda (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eurman:v:40:y:2022:i:6:p:823-831

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DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2022.09.003

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