IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v186y2025ics0148296324005253.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Tug of war? Exploring the role of acquirer and target CEO-level acquisition experience in deal completion

Author

Listed:
  • Bhussar, Manjot S.
  • Zorn, Michelle L.
  • Adams, Garry L.
  • Silvera, Geoffrey A.

Abstract

Role theory predicts that mismatches between behavioral and structural role expectations can lead to negotiation difficulties. We extend this lens to the pre-completion phase of acquisitions to understand when role conflicts between acquirer and target CEOs may affect deal completion. Adopting an individual learning approach, this study begins by differentiating individual-level learning in the pre-completion phase from firm-level learning typically studied post-completion. Accordingly, we predict that acquirer CEO’s acquisition experience depth (number) and breadth (different types) positively impact the likelihood of deal completion, while target CEO’s experience negatively moderates these relationships due to role conflicts. Using archival and hand-collected data from US public firm acquisitions (2000–2020), we find support for our predictions. Our findings contribute to the acquisition literature by distinguishing CEO-level experience from firm-level experience, unpacking the multidimensional nature of CEO acquisition experience, and applying role theory to the pre-completion phase of acquisitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Bhussar, Manjot S. & Zorn, Michelle L. & Adams, Garry L. & Silvera, Geoffrey A., 2025. "Tug of war? Exploring the role of acquirer and target CEO-level acquisition experience in deal completion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:186:y:2025:i:c:s0148296324005253
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115021
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296324005253
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115021?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:186:y:2025:i:c:s0148296324005253. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.