Exploring the factors influencing the negotiation process in cross-border M&A

• This paper examines the factors influencing negotiation process in cross border M&As.
• We found that communication positively influence antecedent & concurrent phase.
• National and organisational cultural differences negatively influence the concurrent phase.
• National culture moderates the relationship between communication & concurrent phase.
• The effectiveness of concurrent phase positively influence the consequent phase.

This research study provides an empirical examination of the impact of national cultural distance, organizational cultural differences, communication, and planned employee retention on the effectiveness of negotiation process in the cross-border mergers & acquisitions (M&As). We developed and tested a conceptual framework of negotiation process in order to provide a framework for analysis of the key components of the negotiation process in the cross border M&A. The findings indicate that communication positively influence antecedent and concurrent phase of negotiation process. In addition, national cultural distance and organizational cultural differences negatively influence the effectiveness of concurrent phase. We also found that national cultural distance moderates the relationship between communication and effectiveness of concurrent phase of the negotiation process, as such that the positive effect of communication is lower when national cultural distance is higher. Furthermore, we found that planned employee retention positively affect the effectiveness of concurrent phase. Finally, the effectiveness of concurrent phase positively influence the effectiveness of consequent phase i.e. M&A agreement. The contribution of this study lies in providing new insights on negotiation-associated factors for incumbent executives, in order to enable them to better plan and implement cross-border mergers and acquisition deals.