A Comparison of Mergers and Acquisitions in Japan, Europe and the United States

A large social science literature has emerged on the role of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in corporate strategy. Yet the frequency, motivation and type of takeover activity across countries are strongly influenced by various institutional characteristics of the national business system (Goergen et al., 2005; Hall and Soskice, 2001; Rossi and Volpin, 2003). In the United States and the United Kingdom, the level of M&A is high and hostile takeovers are seen as being common (or at least a realistic possibility). In Japan and other continental European countries such as France or Germany, the level of M&A activity has been much lower prior to the 1990s. Moreover, hostile takeovers were extremely infrequent or even perceived as being impossible to implement.