THE PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS OF PARTICIPATING IN AN ACQUISITION WAVE: EARLY MOVER ADVANTAGES, BANDWAGON EFFECTS, AND THE MODERATING INFLUENCE OF INDUSTRY CHARACTERISTICS AND ACQUIRER TACTICS

摘要

Acquisitions often occur in waves within industries. We extend the theoretical understanding of such waves by drawing upon research on early mover advantage and bandwagon effects to develop arguments regarding the likely performance potential of participating at different points in an acquisition wave. In line with our theoretical model, we find acquisition performance is higher for early movers but lower for acquirers that participate at the height of the acquisition wave. Although we find this general performance trend, our findings suggest both industry and acquirer characteristics influence the degree to which firms seize early mover advantages or fall prey to bandwagon pressures.