IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i2p513-d306933.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Systematic Review of Research on Sustainability in Mergers and Acquisitions

Author

Listed:
  • Thais González-Torres

    (Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Paseo de los Artilleros, s/n, 28032 Madrid, Spain)

  • José-Luis Rodríguez-Sánchez

    (Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Paseo de los Artilleros, s/n, 28032 Madrid, Spain)

  • Eva Pelechano-Barahona

    (Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Paseo de los Artilleros, s/n, 28032 Madrid, Spain)

  • Fernando E. García-Muiña

    (Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Paseo de los Artilleros, s/n, 28032 Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

The field of mergers and acquisitions and sustainability has been expanding in the last years; consequently, there is a need for a systematic review of the existing body of knowledge. This article aims to fill this gap by providing an overview and synthesis of the research topic. The specific objectives are (1) to assess the academic impact, and (2) to determine the structure of the topic. To achieve these goals, a bibliometric analysis will be carried out through a selection of articles taken from the WoS database from 1900 to 2019. First, the historical evolution of publications will be addressed, the distribution of articles by journal and by individual author, as well as the total number of citations per article. Second, this article will develop networks of co-citations of authors and journals and co-word analysis by using VOS Viewer software. The global results will provide insights into the nature and trends of research on mergers and acquisitions and sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Thais González-Torres & José-Luis Rodríguez-Sánchez & Eva Pelechano-Barahona & Fernando E. García-Muiña, 2020. "A Systematic Review of Research on Sustainability in Mergers and Acquisitions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:2:p:513-:d:306933
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/2/513/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/2/513/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Castillo-Vergara, Mauricio & Alvarez-Marin, Alejandro & Placencio-Hidalgo, Dario, 2018. "A bibliometric analysis of creativity in the field of business economics," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1-9.
    2. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "Value Maximization, Stakeholder Theory, and the Corporate Objective Function," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 32-42, January.
    3. Michael Hall, C., 2011. "Publish and perish? Bibliometric analysis, journal ranking and the assessment of research quality in tourism," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 16-27.
    4. John Child & Suzana B. Rodrigues, 2012. "How Organizations Engage with External Complexity: A Political Action Perspective," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Anabella Davila & Marta M. Elvira & Jacobo Ramirez & Laura Zapata-Cantu (ed.), Understanding Organizations in Complex, Emergent and Uncertain Environments, chapter 2, pages 13-44, Palgrave Macmillan.
    5. Adel A. Al‐Sharkas & M. Kabir Hassan & Shari Lawrence, 2008. "The Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on the Efficiency of the US Banking Industry: Further Evidence," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1‐2), pages 50-70, January.
    6. Dzikowski, Piotr, 2018. "A bibliometric analysis of born global firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 281-294.
    7. Yehua Dennis Wei & Wangming Li & Chunbin Wang, 2007. "Restructuring Industrial Districts, Scaling Up Regional Development: A Study of the Wenzhou Model, China," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 83(4), pages 421-444, October.
    8. Fried, Harold O. & Lovell, C. A. Knox & Yaisawarng, Suthathip, 1999. "The impact of mergers on credit union service provision," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(2-4), pages 367-386, February.
    9. Stéphanie Looser & Walter Wehrmeyer, 2016. "Ethics of the firm, for the firm or in the firm? Purpose of extrinsic and intrinsic CSR in Switzerland," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 12(3), pages 547-572, August.
    10. Li, Huajiao & An, Haizhong & Wang, Yue & Huang, Jiachen & Gao, Xiangyun, 2016. "Evolutionary features of academic articles co-keyword network and keywords co-occurrence network: Based on two-mode affiliation network," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 450(C), pages 657-669.
    11. Peter Sheldon & Raoul Nacamulli & Francesco Paoletti & David E. Morgan, 2016. "Employer Association Responses to the Effects of Bargaining Decentralization in Australia and Italy: Seeking Explanations from Organizational Theory," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(1), pages 160-191, March.
    12. Jennifer Clapp, 2018. "Mega-Mergers on the Menu: Corporate Concentration and the Politics of Sustainability in the Global Food System," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 18(2), pages 12-33, May.
    13. David J. Teece, 2008. "Firm organization, industrial structure, and technological innovation," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Transfer And Licensing Of Know-How And Intellectual Property Understanding the Multinational Enterprise in the Modern World, chapter 11, pages 265-296, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    14. Anju Seth & Kean P Song & Richardson Pettit, 2000. "Synergy, Managerialism or Hubris? An Empirical Examination of Motives for Foreign Acquisitions of U.S. Firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 31(3), pages 387-405, September.
    15. Christofi, Michael & Vrontis, Demetris & Thrassou, Alkis & Shams, S.M. Riad, 2019. "Triggering technological innovation through cross-border mergers and acquisitions: A micro-foundational perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 148-166.
    16. Ferreira, Manuel Portugal & Santos, João Carvalho & de Almeida, Martinho Isnard Ribeiro & Reis, Nuno Rosa, 2014. "Mergers & acquisitions research: A bibliometric study of top strategy and international business journals, 1980–2010," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(12), pages 2550-2558.
    17. Brian Dollery & Michael A. Kortt & Sue O'Keefe, 2014. "Local Co-Governance and Environmental Sustainability in New South Wales Local Government: The Lake Macquarie City Council Sustainable Neighbourhoods Program," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 33(1), pages 36-44, March.
    18. Henry Small, 1973. "Co‐citation in the scientific literature: A new measure of the relationship between two documents," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 24(4), pages 265-269, July.
    19. Nees Jan Eck & Ludo Waltman, 2010. "Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(2), pages 523-538, August.
    20. Adel A. Al‐Sharkas & M. Kabir Hassan & Shari Lawrence, 2008. "The Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on the Efficiency of the US Banking Industry: Further Evidence," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1‐2), pages 50-70, January.
    21. Katherine W. McCain, 1990. "Mapping authors in intellectual space: A technical overview," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 41(6), pages 433-443, September.
    22. João Carvalho Santos & Manuel Portugal Ferreira & Nuno Rosa Reis & Martinho Ribeiro Almeida, 2012. "Mergers & acquisitions research: A bibliometric study of top strategy and international business journals," Working Papers 91, globADVANTAGE, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria.
    23. Allen N. Berger & Gregory F. Udell, 2002. "Small Business Credit Availability and Relationship Lending: The Importance of Bank Organisational Structure," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(477), pages 32-53, February.
    24. Hanan Alhaddi, 2015. "Triple Bottom Line and Sustainability: A Literature Review," Business and Management Studies, Redfame publishing, vol. 1(2), pages 6-10, September.
    25. Oliner, Stephen D., 1982. "Mergers and the sustainability of collusion in a Cournot-Nash supergame," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 305-310.
    26. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    27. Valérie Moatti & Charlotte R. Ren & Jaideep Anand & Pierre Dussauge, 2015. "Disentangling the performance effects of efficiency and bargaining power in horizontal growth strategies: An empirical investigation in the global retail industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 745-757, May.
    28. John Child & Terence Tsai, 2005. "The Dynamic Between Firms’ Environmental Strategies and Institutional Constraints in Emerging Economies: Evidence from China and Taiwan," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1), pages 95-125, January.
    29. Jennifer Clapp, 2019. "The rise of financial investment and common ownership in global agrifood firms," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 604-629, July.
    30. Laurence Capron & Will Mitchell & Anand Swaminathan, 2001. "Asset divestiture following horizontal acquisitions: a dynamic view," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(9), pages 817-844, September.
    31. Tomi Laamanen & Thomas Keil, 2008. "Performance of serial acquirers: toward an acquisition program perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 663-672, June.
    32. José M. Merigó & Christian A. Cancino & Freddy Coronado & David Urbano, 2016. "Academic research in innovation: a country analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 108(2), pages 559-593, August.
    33. Howard D. White & Belver C. Griffith, 1981. "Author cocitation: A literature measure of intellectual structure," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 32(3), pages 163-171, May.
    34. Delyse Springett & Timothy W. Luke, 2013. "Corporate Social Responsibility: An Uneasy Merger of Sustainability and Development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(2), pages 83-91, March.
    35. Helder Vasconcelos, 2005. "Tacit Collusion, Cost Asymmetries, and Mergers," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 36(1), pages 39-62, Spring.
    36. Laura Fabregat-Aibar & M. Glòria Barberà-Mariné & Antonio Terceño & Laia Pié, 2019. "A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis of Socially Responsible Funds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jinho Choi & Yong Sik Chang, 2020. "Development of a New Methodology to Identity Promising Technology Areas Using M&A Information," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-25, July.
    2. Jiaqi Chen & Xi Zhao & Xiaotong Niu & Ying Han Fan & Grantley Taylor, 2020. "Does M&A Financing Affect Firm Performance under Different Ownership Types?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-15, April.
    3. Haitham Nobanee & Fatima Youssef Al Hamadi & Fatma Ali Abdulaziz & Lina Subhi Abukarsh & Aysha Falah Alqahtani & Shayma Khalifa AlSubaey & Sara Mohamed Alqahtani & Hamama Abdulla Almansoori, 2021. "A Bibliometric Analysis of Sustainability and Risk Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    4. Xiaoxu Zhang & Yu Song & Hongyu Liu, 2023. "Too Much of a Good Thing? The Impact of Serial M&A on Innovation Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-23, June.
    5. Cristina Pérez-Pérez & Diana Benito-Osorio & Susana María García Moreno, 2021. "Mergers and Acquisitions within the Sharing Economy: Placing All the Players on the Board," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, January.
    6. Ilaria Galavotti & Daniele Cerrato & Franca Cantoni, 2020. "Surviving after Cross-Border Acquisitions: How Business Relatedness, Host Country Experience, and Cultural Distance Affect Acquired Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-18, August.
    7. Jinesh Jain & Nidhi Walia & Simarjeet Singh & Esha Jain, 2022. "Mapping the field of behavioural biases: a literature review using bibliometric analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 823-855, September.
    8. Hossain, Mohammed Sawkat, 2021. "Merger & Acquisitions (M&As) as an important strategic vehicle in business: Thematic areas, research avenues & possible suggestions," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    9. Diana Marieta Mihaiu & Radu-Alexandru Șerban & Alin Opreana & Mihai Țichindelean & Vasile Brătian & Liliana Barbu, 2021. "The Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions and Sustainability on Company Performance in the Pharmaceutical Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-24, June.
    10. Zsuzsanna Vincze & Linda Hällerstrand & Daniel Örtqvist & Lena Rist, 2021. "Strategic Corporate Sustainability in a Post-Acquisition Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-29, May.
    11. Karolis Andriuškevičius & Dalia Štreimikienė, 2022. "Sustainability Framework for Assessment of Mergers and Acquisitions in Energy Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-20, June.
    12. Jost, Sébastien & Erben, Saskia & Ottenstein, Philipp & Zülch, Henning, 2022. "Does corporate social responsibility impact mergers & acquisition premia? New international evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA).
    13. Xiaoting Hu & Ximing Yin & Zhanming Jin & Jizhen Li, 2020. "How Do International M&As Affect Rival Firm’s Sustainable Performance? —Empirical Evidence from an Emerging Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-17, February.
    14. Sophie Fischer & John Rodwell & Mark Pickering, 2021. "A Configurational Approach to Mergers and Acquisitions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, January.
    15. Olimpia Meglio, 2020. "Towards More Sustainable M&A Deals: Scholars as Change Agents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-11, November.
    16. Giulia Chiaraluce & Deborah Bentivoglio & Adele Finco, 2021. "Circular Economy for a Sustainable Agri-Food Supply Chain: A Review for Current Trends and Future Pathways," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-21, August.
    17. Pavan Manocha & Jagjit Singh Srai, 2020. "Exploring Environmental Supply Chain Innovation in M&A," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-15, December.
    18. Yunjae Bae & Kyungsuk Lee & Taewoo Roh, 2020. "Acquirer’s Absorptive Capacity and Firm Performance: The Perspectives of Strategic Behavior and Knowledge Assets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-28, October.
    19. Barros, Victor & Verga Matos, Pedro & Miranda Sarmento, Joaquim & Rino Vieira, Pedro, 2022. "M&A activity as a driver for better ESG performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    20. Qing (Ray) Cao & Andrew N. K. Chen & Bradley T. Ewing & Mark A. Thompson, 2021. "Evaluating Information System Success and Impact on Sustainability Practices: A Survey and a Case Study of Regional Mesonet Information Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-23, June.
    21. Yulia Vertakova & Inga Vselenskaya & Vladimir Plotnikov, 2021. "Mergers and Acquisitions Risk Modeling," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-24, September.
    22. Roxana Manuela Dicu & Ioan-Bogdan Robu & George-Marian Aevoae & Daniela-Neonila Mardiros, 2020. "Rethinking the Role of M&As in Promoting Sustainable Development: Empirical Evidence Regarding the Relation Between the Audit Opinion and the Sustainable Performance of the Romanian Target Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Laura Fabregat-Aibar & M. Glòria Barberà-Mariné & Antonio Terceño & Laia Pié, 2019. "A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis of Socially Responsible Funds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, May.
    2. Gallego-Losada, María-Jesús & Montero-Navarro, Antonio & García-Abajo, Elisa & Gallego-Losada, Rocío, 2023. "Digital financial inclusion. Visualizing the academic literature," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    3. Manuel Portugal Ferreira & Nuno R. Reis & Roberta M. Paula & Claudia Frias Pinto, 2017. "Structural and longitudinal analysis of the knowledge base on spin-off research," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 112(1), pages 289-313, July.
    4. Gaviria-Marin, Magaly & Merigó, José M. & Baier-Fuentes, Hugo, 2019. "Knowledge management: A global examination based on bibliometric analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 194-220.
    5. Ying Huang & Wolfgang Glänzel & Lin Zhang, 2021. "Tracing the development of mapping knowledge domains," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(7), pages 6201-6224, July.
    6. Jun-Ping Qiu & Ke Dong & Hou-Qiang Yu, 2014. "Comparative study on structure and correlation among author co-occurrence networks in bibliometrics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 101(2), pages 1345-1360, November.
    7. Karolis Andriuškevičius & Dalia Štreimikienė, 2022. "Sustainability Framework for Assessment of Mergers and Acquisitions in Energy Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-20, June.
    8. Perianes-Rodriguez, Antonio & Waltman, Ludo & van Eck, Nees Jan, 2016. "Constructing bibliometric networks: A comparison between full and fractional counting," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 1178-1195.
    9. Bruno Miranda Henrique & Vinicius Amorim Sobreiro & Herbert Kimura, 2018. "Building direct citation networks," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(2), pages 817-832, May.
    10. Dzikowski, Piotr, 2018. "A bibliometric analysis of born global firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 281-294.
    11. Koseoglu, Mehmet Ali & Rahimi, Roya & Okumus, Fevzi & Liu, Jingyan, 2016. "Bibliometric studies in tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 180-198.
    12. Chiaramonte, Laura & Dreassi, Alberto & Piserà, Stefano & Khan, Ashraf, 2023. "Mergers and acquisitions in the financial industry: A bibliometric review and future research directions," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    13. Singh, Shiwangi & Dhir, Sanjay & Das, V. Mukunda & Sharma, Anuj, 2020. "Bibliometric overview of the Technological Forecasting and Social Change journal: Analysis from 1970 to 2018," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    14. Francisco García-Lillo & Enrique Claver-Cortés & Bartolomé Marco-Lajara & Mercedes Úbeda-García, 2017. "Mapping the Intellectual Structure of Research on ‘Born Global’ Firms and INVs: A Citation/Co-citation Analysis," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 631-652, August.
    15. Riad Shams, S.M. & Vrontis, Demetris & Chaudhuri, Ranjan & Chavan, Gitesh & Czinkota, Michael R., 2020. "Stakeholder engagement for innovation management and entrepreneurial development: A meta-analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 67-86.
    16. Hugo Baier-Fuentes & José M. Merigó & José Ernesto Amorós & Magaly Gaviria-Marín, 2019. "International entrepreneurship: a bibliometric overview," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 385-429, June.
    17. Li, Kai & Yan, Erjia, 2018. "Co-mention network of R packages: Scientific impact and clustering structure," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 87-100.
    18. Dennys Eduardo Rossetto & Roberto Carlos Bernardes & Felipe Mendes Borini & Cristiane Chaves Gattaz, 2018. "Structure and evolution of innovation research in the last 60 years: review and future trends in the field of business through the citations and co-citations analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(3), pages 1329-1363, June.
    19. Gina Santos & Carla Susana Marques & João J. Ferreira, 2018. "A look back over the past 40 years of female entrepreneurship: mapping knowledge networks," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(2), pages 953-987, May.
    20. Pietronudo, Maria Cristina & Croidieu, Grégoire & Schiavone, Francesco, 2022. "A solution looking for problems? A systematic literature review of the rationalizing influence of artificial intelligence on decision-making in innovation management," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).

    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:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:2:p:513-:d:306933. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.