Strategic Decisions and Sustainability Choices

Towards More Sustainable M&A Deals: Scholars as Change Agents

“…Against such a multitude of consequences, acquisition research from its inception, nearly a century ago [29], has largely emphasized economic and financial values created/destroyed by acquisitions, often at the expense of other dimensions of value, such as the environmental or societal dimensions [3]. There is already a vast number of studies concerned with how acquisitions perform [30,31] or why they miscarry [32] to identify variables that explain or predict acquisition performance [33,34].…”

“…An excessive focus on shareholders' value, although important, prevents catching important signs of changes underway. For instance, in recent years, we have witnessed an increasing number of deals driven by sustainability or responsibility motives: For example, the acquisition of Ben & Jerry's by Unilever and the acquisitions of Agility across the globe are inspired by sustainability goals [3]. These motives are not fully captured with a focus on measures addressing shareholder perspectives.…”

“…For instance, companies have benefitted from connecting distant locations through efficient and fast communication bringing about significant cost-cutting savings. In parallel, globalization has also opened up new money-making opportunities through entering new markets or cutting costs by splitting value chains and shifting activities to low-cost locations [3]. To cope with globalization, firms have engaged in mergers and acquisitions, traditionally referred to as acquisitions.…”

“…Cross-border acquisitions have magnified the impact of globalization through their effects at the individual, organizational, and societal levels. In other words, acquisitions and globalization are having intertwined effects on people, profit, and planet [3].…”

“…For instance, some firms with better environmental performance may discipline polluting firms through takeovers [18]. (c) Acquisition research has already embraced a stakeholder perspective but only incidentally addressed issues of social responsibility or sustainability [3].…”