The search for trading partners and the cross-border merger decision.

We investigate the merger decision between two firms in an outsourcing relationship, one upstream and the other downstream. The inter-firm relationship is subject both to ex ante matching uncertainty and to contractual efficiency issues. Cross-border merger is assumed to solve the latter problem, but at the expense of curtailing the match-searching process. The trade-off between these two factors is assumed to determine the dynamics of foreign direct investment in this kind of industry.