Inorganic growth of technology sector firms in emerging markets: Influence of firm-specific factors in Indian firms' M&A activities

摘要

Purpose - Emerging economies and technology firms in these economies have witnessed significant increase in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to conduct an empirical research on Indian technology firms and analyze the influence of firm-specific factors on firms' M&A decisions. Design/methodology/approach - A set of 372 Indian firms in the technology sector have been studied for the period 2001-2011, a decade when this sector has seen maximum number of M&A transactions. Findings - The results show that financially strong, low-debt firms with high market capitalization are the typical acquirers in this segment and they tend to be serial acquirer too. Originality/value - Contrary to established findings in developed economies, the authors find that Indian technology firms' acquisition decisions are not associated with their R&D activities, opening up scope for investigations on role of technology assets in emerging market firms' acquisition decisions.