The Crucial Role of Time in M&A Activities : An Inductive Exploration

Mergers & acquisitions (M&As) are important strategic instruments, yet nearly half of all transactions fail, often resulting in disastrous write-offs and losses for corporations and financing institutions alike - despite promising prospects upfront. Applied research has been trying to find a “panacea” to prevent or at least predict M&A failure, investigating motives, synergies and performance. Despite the growing unease with the stationary explanatory models in literature, research has only marginally focused on the concept of time, with inquiries into market timing and integration speed. Yet other timing concepts have been neglected in concepts so far despite early empirical evidence for their existence. The purpose of this paper is thus to identify and elaborate on the importance of further relevant theories of timing. For this, and true to the exploratory nature of the topic, the authors have chosen a qualitative comparative case study design based on existing case reports which are investigated for narrations highlighting timing concepts. This study reveals six factors which have a crucial impact on the M&A outcome: time of acquisition, M&A duration in its entirety, M&A sequence, synergy chronology, frequency of acquisitions and time to step back. It contributes to theory and practice in outlining the careful attention that needs to be paid in planning in these factors to enhance the chances of a successful M&A transaction