Economic Development, Institutional Quality, and the Scale Effect Puzzle of Cross-Border M&As: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis Model

摘要

The existence of the scale effect puzzle of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) erodes the foundation of antitrust supervision and reduces large enterprises' enthusiasm for pursuing cross-border M&As. This study investigates the puzzle of the scale effect from the perspective of economic development and institutional quality. Through the meta-analysis mean value technique and the meta-regression equation model, the study finds that the mean value of the cross-border M&A scale effect is positive and significant, indicating that cross-border M&A performance increases alongside the scale. In addition, the study provides evidence that the scale effect of cross-border M&A is declining as economic development and institutional quality increase, indicating that these factors are more conducive to small-scale companies seeking foreign acquisitions to become bigger and stronger.