East-Meets-West: Mergers and Acquisitions challenges and opportunities in and out of Asia

Abstract

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) have long been a strategically important corporate strategy for growth and global expansion. Research on M&As in Asian contexts is linked to the relevant countries’ phenomenal business growth, economic transformation, and institutional development. To consolidate and synthesise the existing body of knowledge related to the ‘East-Meets-West’ notion, this paper will present an examination of the characteristics of M&As both in and out of Asia from an international perspective, with a geographical focus on China, Japan, and South Korea. We investigated the influencing factors related to the distinctiveness and commonalities of M&As in and out of Asia. Our findings suggest that the divergence in Asian M&As may be driven by industrial characteristics and national environments, while their convergence may be due to human aspects. Our study contributes to the divergence and convergence debate in the context of in and out of Asia M&As in relation to the East-Meets-West concept.