Mergers and acquisitions research — A bibliometric analysis

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) remain a popular vehicle for organizational development to ensure future competitiveness. However, despite the extensive body of research in recent decades, significant gaps can be observed between the understanding of the phenomenon M&A in the literature and t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEuropean management journal Vol. 40; no. 6; pp. 832 - 846
Main Authors Eulerich, Marc, Kopp, Raphael, Fligge, Benjamin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2022
Subjects
Bibliometrics
Co-citation analysis
M&A
Network analysis
Science mapping
M19
Bibliometrics
Network analysis
Co-citation analysis
M&A
G34
Science mapping
M10
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Summary:Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) remain a popular vehicle for organizational development to ensure future competitiveness. However, despite the extensive body of research in recent decades, significant gaps can be observed between the understanding of the phenomenon M&A in the literature and the importance of M&A activities in practice. Heterogeneous perspectives from different schools of thought, contradictory findings and controversies, and changing economic environments make M&A research a complex endeavor and highlight the need for integrative approaches and holistic perspectives. This paper takes a holistic view of M&A research to map interrelationships among key documents, authors, institutions, and countries; trace the evolution of M&A research over time; and suggest avenues for future research to expand the boundaries of M&A scholarship. For this purpose, a sample of 580 articles from 9 leading management science journals was examined bibliometrically, including 42,630 citations and 18,734 unique references for the years 1963–2019.
ISSN:0263-2373
1873-5681
DOI:10.1016/j.emj.2022.09.006