When are acquisitions a viable catch-up strategy? Some empirical evidence from China
研究中国上市公司十年间的收购数据，发现跨境收购在高技术行业和领先企业中提升劳动生产率，而国内收购在低技术行业和落后企业中效果更显著，技术创新和运营效率分别是主要机制。
How emerging-market firms can catch up with forerunners from advanced economies is a key issue in the economic and technology literature. Research has suggested that acquisitions are a viable tool for firms in emerging markets to reduce the productivity gap with global leaders, but the empirical evidence on this matter is still far from conclusive. Contributing to this debate, this paper examines the impact of cross-border vs. domestic acquisitions on the labor productivity of firms across different sectoral environments. Studying the acquisitions pursued by Chinese listed firms over one decade, we find that cross-border acquisitions are positively associated with firms' labor productivity and that this effect is particularly strong in high-tech sectors and among leading firms. We also find that domestic acquisitions are positively associated with firms’ labor productivity and that this effect is particularly strong in low-tech sectors and among laggards. We further investigate the mechanisms underlying the acquisition–productivity link and contend that “technological innovation” is the primary mechanism by which acquisitions enhance firm productivity in high-tech sectors, whereas “enhancing operating efficiency” is the primary mechanism by which acquisitions enhance firm productivity in low-tech sectors.