Mergers and Acquisitions Strategies for Industry Leaders, Challengers, and Niche Players: Interaction Effects of Technology Positioning and Industrial Environment

This study empirically investigates the merger and acquisition (M&A) strategies of focal firms by considering their market and technology position at the industry level. The results obtained using patents, firm M&A agreements, and the financial data of U.S. technology firms from 1997 through...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on engineering management Vol. 62; no. 1; pp. 80 - 88
Main Authors: Lin, Bou-Wen, Chen, Wan-Chen, Chu, Po-Young
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York IEEE 01.02.2015
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subjects:
Acquisitions & mergers
Companies
Corporate acquisitions
Industries
Industry challenger
industry environment
industry leader
Management theory
market position
Market positioning
mergers and acquisitions (M&As)
Niche marketing
niche player
Strategic management
Studies
Technological innovation
technological positioning
Technology adoption
United States > US
industry environment
Industry challenger
mergers and acquisitions (M&As)
market position
industry leader
niche player
technological positioning
ISSN:0018-9391, 1558-0040
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Abstract This study empirically investigates the merger and acquisition (M&A) strategies of focal firms by considering their market and technology position at the industry level. The results obtained using patents, firm M&A agreements, and the financial data of U.S. technology firms from 1997 through 2008 demonstrate how industry leaders, challengers, and niche players differ in their M&A strategic logic. Three industry environmental factors and two technology positioning factors exhibit different effects on firms' M&A strategies for varied market positions. The overall patterns reveal that niche players are more aggressive in leveraging their technology positions to adopt M&As for the purpose of acquiring access to external knowledge resources, while leaders tend to leverage their market positions and use M&As to further strengthen their market power. Challengers are more likely to engage in M&As when locating in unfavorable environmental markets, but they are less likely to engage in M&As when locating in technologically crowded areas.
AbstractList This study empirically investigates the merger and acquisition (M&A) strategies of focal firms by considering their market and technology position at the industry level. The results obtained using patents, firm M&A agreements, and the financial data of U.S. technology firms from 1997 through 2008 demonstrate how industry leaders, challengers, and niche players differ in their M&A strategic logic. Three industry environmental factors and two technology positioning factors exhibit different effects on firms' M&A strategies for varied market positions. The overall patterns reveal that niche players are more aggressive in leveraging their technology positions to adopt M&As for the purpose of acquiring access to external knowledge resources, while leaders tend to leverage their market positions and use M&As to further strengthen their market power. Challengers are more likely to engage in M&As when locating in unfavorable environmental markets, but they are less likely to engage in M&As when locating in technologically crowded areas.
Author Wan-Chen Chen
Po-Young Chu
Bou-Wen Lin
Author_xml – sequence: 1
  givenname: Bou-Wen
  surname: Lin
  fullname: Lin, Bou-Wen
– sequence: 2
  givenname: Wan-Chen
  surname: Chen
  fullname: Chen, Wan-Chen
– sequence: 3
  givenname: Po-Young
  surname: Chu
  fullname: Chu, Po-Young
BookMark eNp9kc1qGzEUhUVJoc7PvtCNoNuOe6UZjWe6C8ZNDE5qiPeDrLkay4wlR5IDfp0-aTS26SKLgkBccb5zOTrX5Mo6i4R8ZTBmDOqfq9nTmAMrxjyvoOL8ExkxIaoMoIArMgJgVVbnNftCrkPYprEQHEbk7xP6Dn2g0rb0Xr0eTDDROBvoS_QyYmcwUO08ndv2EKI_0gXKNgE_6HQj-x5tdxoG_NmoDdJlL4_p6VciInqpBjc60xpVDNRpukK1sa533ZEu3XmZsd3J4LLDyJ7O7Jvxzu7QxlvyWcs-4N3lviGr37PV9DFb_HmYT-8XmSpKHjOhhUSxlu06R6YZRyjkOgfOsSw0E1XOgDOYQDqqbHPJudYCS5mrWrAE3ZDvZ9u9d68HDLHZuoO3aWPDyqIqJzWISVKVZ5XyLgSPulEmyiFE-i7TNwyaoY4m1dEMdTSXOhIIH8C9Nzvpj_9Dvp0Rg4j_5ClBSgP5O8mQmk4
CODEN IEEMA4
CitedBy_id crossref_primary_10_1109_TEM_2022_3190319
crossref_primary_10_1109_ACCESS_2023_3270623
crossref_primary_10_1108_MD_04_2016_0220
crossref_primary_10_1080_09537325_2019_1606420
crossref_primary_10_1109_TEM_2020_2965170
crossref_primary_10_1108_JMTM_01_2019_0006
crossref_primary_10_1109_TEM_2025_3591556
crossref_primary_10_1108_MD_03_2016_0203
crossref_primary_10_1109_TEM_2024_3485235
crossref_primary_10_1109_TEM_2021_3134698
crossref_primary_10_3390_su151712883
crossref_primary_10_1109_TEM_2019_2954799
Cites_doi 10.1002/smj.248
10.1177/0149206308330554
10.2307/2556095
10.1509/jmkg.68.2.88.27787
10.1002/smj.369
10.1086/261305
10.1016/S0166-4972(01)00047-5
10.1109/TEM.1984.6447534
10.1111/1467-6486.00287
10.1016/0304-405X(92)90002-F
10.2307/41166222
10.1287/orsc.13.4.387.2950
10.1002/smj.4250040204
10.1177/0256090920040202
10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(1998110)19:11<1007::AID-SMJ999>3.3.CO;2-#
10.1287/orsc.13.6.714.496
10.1002/smj.335
10.1287/orsc.9.1.87
10.2307/2393679
10.2307/20159048
10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199708)18:7<509::AID-SMJ882>3.0.CO;2-Z
10.1002/smj.4250080604
10.2307/2393080
10.2307/2393492
10.1002/smj.546
10.1016/0304-405X(92)90004-H
10.5465/AMR.1987.4306502
10.1016/0167-7187(95)00479-3
10.1287/mnsc.1050.0443
10.1287/orsc.1070.0313
10.1086/230994
10.1002/smj.509
10.1002/mde.4090090401
10.1177/0149206308316968
10.1007/s11151-004-8114-9
10.5465/AMBPP.1995.17536229
10.1002/smj.4250171110
10.2307/257009
10.2189/asqu.52.2.208
10.1287/mnsc.35.12.1504
10.1177/014920639101700108
10.1080/096525497346866
10.1002/smj.4250050207
10.1177/014920639001600410
10.4135/9781446250228.n6
ContentType Journal Article
Copyright Copyright The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) Feb 2015
Copyright_xml – notice: Copyright The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) Feb 2015
DBID 97E
RIA
RIE
AAYXX
CITATION
7SC
7SP
7TB
8FD
FR3
JQ2
KR7
L7M
L~C
L~D
DOI 10.1109/TEM.2014.2380822
DatabaseName IEEE All-Society Periodicals Package (ASPP) 2005-present
IEEE All-Society Periodicals Package (ASPP) 1998-Present
IEEE Electronic Library (IEL)
CrossRef
Computer and Information Systems Abstracts
Electronics & Communications Abstracts
Mechanical & Transportation Engineering Abstracts
Technology Research Database
Engineering Research Database
ProQuest Computer Science Collection
Civil Engineering Abstracts
Advanced Technologies Database with Aerospace
Computer and Information Systems Abstracts – Academic
Computer and Information Systems Abstracts Professional
DatabaseTitle CrossRef
Civil Engineering Abstracts
Technology Research Database
Computer and Information Systems Abstracts – Academic
Mechanical & Transportation Engineering Abstracts
Electronics & Communications Abstracts
ProQuest Computer Science Collection
Computer and Information Systems Abstracts
Engineering Research Database
Advanced Technologies Database with Aerospace
Computer and Information Systems Abstracts Professional
DatabaseTitleList
Civil Engineering Abstracts
Database_xml – sequence: 1
  dbid: RIE
  name: IEEE Electronic Library (IEL)
  url: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/
  sourceTypes: Publisher
DeliveryMethod fulltext_linktorsrc
Discipline Engineering
EISSN 1558-0040
EndPage 88
ExternalDocumentID 3571732391
10_1109_TEM_2014_2380822
7001580
Genre orig-research
Feature
GeographicLocations United States--US
GeographicLocations_xml – name: United States--US
GroupedDBID -~X
.-4
.DC
0R~
29I
4.4
5GY
5VS
6IK
97E
AAJGR
AARMG
AASAJ
AAWTH
ABAZT
ABQJQ
ABVLG
ACGFO
ACGFS
ACGOD
ACHQT
ACIWK
ACNCT
ADMHC
AENEX
AETIX
AFOGA
AGQYO
AGSQL
AHBIQ
AI.
AIBXA
AKJIK
AKQYR
ALLEH
ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS
ASUFR
ATWAV
AZLTO
BEFXN
BFFAM
BGNUA
BKEBE
BKOMP
BPEOZ
CS3
DU5
EBS
EJD
HZ~
H~9
IAAWW
IBMZZ
ICLAB
IDIHD
IFIPE
IFJZH
IPLJI
JAVBF
LAI
M43
MS~
O9-
OCL
P2P
PQQKQ
RIA
RIE
RNS
TAE
TN5
VH1
AAYXX
CITATION
7SC
7SP
7TB
8FD
FR3
JQ2
KR7
L7M
L~C
L~D
ID FETCH-LOGICAL-c462t-5f5ae5badb3e1f12e04ab3022e64f15831021070070c6d3a22ff5e6a3c951db3
IEDL.DBID RIE
ISICitedReferencesCount 14
ISICitedReferencesURI http://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=Summon&SrcAuth=ProQuest&DestLinkType=CitingArticles&DestApp=WOS_CPL&KeyUT=000348387100008&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com%2F%23%21%2Fsearch%3Fho%3Df%26include.ft.matches%3Dt%26l%3Dnull%26q%3D
ISSN 0018-9391
IngestDate Sun Nov 09 08:24:14 EST 2025
Sat Nov 29 03:42:45 EST 2025
Tue Nov 18 22:18:52 EST 2025
Tue Aug 26 16:50:03 EDT 2025
IsPeerReviewed true
IsScholarly true
Issue 1
Keywords industry environment
Industry challenger
mergers and acquisitions (M&As)
market position
industry leader
niche player
technological positioning
Language English
License https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplorehelp/downloads/license-information/IEEE.html
LinkModel DirectLink
MergedId FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-c462t-5f5ae5badb3e1f12e04ab3022e64f15831021070070c6d3a22ff5e6a3c951db3
Notes SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 14
PQID 1648679057
PQPubID 4949
PageCount 9
ParticipantIDs ieee_primary_7001580
proquest_journals_1648679057
crossref_citationtrail_10_1109_TEM_2014_2380822
crossref_primary_10_1109_TEM_2014_2380822
PublicationCentury 2000
PublicationDate 2015-02-01
PublicationDateYYYYMMDD 2015-02-01
PublicationDate_xml – month: 02
  year: 2015
  text: 2015-02-01
  day: 01
PublicationDecade 2010
PublicationPlace New York
PublicationPlace_xml – name: New York
PublicationTitle IEEE transactions on engineering management
PublicationTitleAbbrev TEM
PublicationYear 2015
Publisher IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Publisher_xml – name: IEEE
– name: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
References ref57
ref12
ref59
ref14
ref53
ref52
ref55
ref11
ref54
ref10
ref17
ref16
moore (ref19) 1991
ref51
ref50
ray (ref47) 2004; 29
kotler (ref41) 1994
ref46
ref45
ref48
abell (ref9) 1980
ref42
ref43
buzzell (ref44) 1975; 53
ref49
ref8
ref7
ref3
ref5
ref40
porter (ref34) 1985
thompson (ref26) 1967
ref37
ref31
ref30
ref32
ref2
ref1
carayannis (ref13) 1994
ref39
ref38
kim (ref15) 1993; 83
pettus (ref36) 2002; 67
hoffmann (ref58) 2001; 41
bothner (ref33) 2007; 52
ref24
ref23
ref25
ref20
guth (ref56) 1990; 11
ref22
ref21
ref28
ref27
ref29
chappuis (ref4) 2004; 1
lee (ref35) 2014
moore (ref18) 1995
ref60
freeman (ref6) 1997
References_xml – ident: ref40
  doi: 10.1002/smj.248
– ident: ref28
  doi: 10.1177/0149206308330554
– ident: ref1
  doi: 10.2307/2556095
– ident: ref48
  doi: 10.1509/jmkg.68.2.88.27787
– ident: ref60
  doi: 10.1002/smj.369
– volume: 41
  start-page: 131
  year: 2001
  ident: ref58
  article-title: Acquire or ally? A strategy framework for deciding between acquisition and cooperation
  publication-title: Manag Int Rev
– ident: ref3
  doi: 10.1086/261305
– year: 1994
  ident: ref13
  article-title: The strategic management of technological learning: Transnational decision making frameworks and their empirical effectiveness
– year: 1997
  ident: ref6
  publication-title: The Economics of Industrial Innovation
– ident: ref14
  doi: 10.1016/S0166-4972(01)00047-5
– ident: ref17
  doi: 10.1109/TEM.1984.6447534
– year: 1980
  ident: ref9
  publication-title: Defining the Business The Starting Point of Strategic Planning
– ident: ref27
  doi: 10.1111/1467-6486.00287
– ident: ref43
  doi: 10.1016/0304-405X(92)90002-F
– ident: ref42
  doi: 10.2307/41166222
– ident: ref32
  doi: 10.1287/orsc.13.4.387.2950
– year: 1991
  ident: ref19
  publication-title: The Gorilla Game Picking Winners in High Technology
– ident: ref7
  doi: 10.1002/smj.4250040204
– volume: 29
  start-page: 9
  year: 2004
  ident: ref47
  article-title: Environment-strategy-performance linkages: A study of Indian firms during economic liberalization
  publication-title: Vikalpa
  doi: 10.1177/0256090920040202
– ident: ref49
  doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(1998110)19:11<1007::AID-SMJ999>3.3.CO;2-#
– volume: 53
  start-page: 97
  year: 1975
  ident: ref44
  article-title: Market share: A key to profitability
  publication-title: Harvard Bus Rev
– year: 1995
  ident: ref18
  publication-title: Inside the Tornado Marketing Strategies from Silicon Valley's Cutting Edge
– ident: ref59
  doi: 10.1287/orsc.13.6.714.496
– ident: ref52
  doi: 10.1002/smj.335
– ident: ref8
  doi: 10.1287/orsc.9.1.87
– ident: ref50
  doi: 10.2307/2393679
– ident: ref54
  doi: 10.2307/20159048
– ident: ref12
  doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199708)18:7<509::AID-SMJ882>3.0.CO;2-Z
– ident: ref22
  doi: 10.1002/smj.4250080604
– ident: ref20
  doi: 10.2307/2393080
– ident: ref10
  doi: 10.2307/2393492
– ident: ref31
  doi: 10.1002/smj.546
– ident: ref37
  doi: 10.1016/0304-405X(92)90004-H
– year: 1985
  ident: ref34
  publication-title: Competitive Advantage Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance
– ident: ref16
  doi: 10.5465/AMR.1987.4306502
– ident: ref39
  doi: 10.1016/0167-7187(95)00479-3
– ident: ref53
  doi: 10.1287/mnsc.1050.0443
– ident: ref11
  doi: 10.1287/orsc.1070.0313
– ident: ref29
  doi: 10.1086/230994
– ident: ref21
  doi: 10.1002/smj.509
– ident: ref30
  doi: 10.1002/mde.4090090401
– ident: ref23
  doi: 10.1177/0149206308316968
– year: 2014
  ident: ref35
  article-title: Acquisitions key to Samsung success
  publication-title: The Wall Street J
– ident: ref51
  doi: 10.1007/s11151-004-8114-9
– volume: 11
  start-page: 297
  year: 1990
  ident: ref56
  article-title: Guest editors' introduction: Corporate entrepreneurship
  publication-title: Strategic Manage J
– ident: ref46
  doi: 10.5465/AMBPP.1995.17536229
– ident: ref45
  doi: 10.1002/smj.4250171110
– ident: ref57
  doi: 10.2307/257009
– volume: 1
  start-page: 60
  year: 2004
  ident: ref4
  article-title: High-tech mergers take shape
  publication-title: McKinsey Quarterly
– volume: 52
  start-page: 208
  year: 2007
  ident: ref33
  article-title: Competitive crowding and risk taking in a tournament: Evidence from NASCAR racing
  publication-title: Admin Sci Quart
  doi: 10.2189/asqu.52.2.208
– volume: 83
  start-page: 549
  year: 1993
  ident: ref15
  article-title: Mergers and market power: Evidence from the airline industry
  publication-title: Amer Econ Rev
– year: 1994
  ident: ref41
  publication-title: Marketing Management Analysis Planning Implementation and Control
– year: 1967
  ident: ref26
  publication-title: Organization in Action
– ident: ref24
  doi: 10.1287/mnsc.35.12.1504
– ident: ref25
  doi: 10.1177/014920639101700108
– ident: ref38
  doi: 10.1080/096525497346866
– ident: ref5
  doi: 10.1002/smj.4250050207
– ident: ref55
  doi: 10.1177/014920639001600410
– ident: ref2
  doi: 10.4135/9781446250228.n6
– volume: 67
  start-page: 42
  year: 2002
  ident: ref36
  article-title: Acquisition strategy within a deregulated environment: The case of the U.S. trucking industry
  publication-title: SAM Adv Manage J
SSID ssj0014520
Score 2.1573064
Snippet This study empirically investigates the merger and acquisition (M&A) strategies of focal firms by considering their market and technology position at the...
SourceID proquest
crossref
ieee
SourceType Aggregation Database
Enrichment Source
Index Database
Publisher
StartPage 80
SubjectTerms Acquisitions & mergers
Companies
Corporate acquisitions
Industries
Industry challenger
industry environment
industry leader
Management theory
market position
Market positioning
mergers and acquisitions (M&As)
Niche marketing
niche player
Strategic management
Studies
Technological innovation
technological positioning
Technology adoption
Title Mergers and Acquisitions Strategies for Industry Leaders, Challengers, and Niche Players: Interaction Effects of Technology Positioning and Industrial Environment
URI https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7001580
https://www.proquest.com/docview/1648679057
Volume 62
WOSCitedRecordID wos000348387100008&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com%2F%23%21%2Fsearch%3Fho%3Df%26include.ft.matches%3Dt%26l%3Dnull%26q%3D
hasFullText 1
inHoldings 1
isFullTextHit
isPrint
journalDatabaseRights – providerCode: PRVIEE
  databaseName: IEEE Electronic Library (IEL)
  customDbUrl:
  eissn: 1558-0040
  dateEnd: 99991231
  omitProxy: false
  ssIdentifier: ssj0014520
  issn: 0018-9391
  databaseCode: RIE
  dateStart: 19630101
  isFulltext: true
  titleUrlDefault: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/
  providerName: IEEE
link http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwlV1LS8NAEF5q8aAHX1WsVtmDF6Fp89xkvZXS4qWlhx56C8lmFwol1aYV_Dv-Umc2m1RRBCGHBHaWJd8-ZnYeHyEPLhcCFqCwlONKy1dZZnEWKStitvRECmeYIzTZRDidRosFnzVIt86FkVLq4DPZw1fty8_WYodXZX30kQYRGOgHYRiWuVq1x8APTAlGBxawx53KJWnz_nw0wRguvwfHExY4_3YEaU6VHxuxPl3Gp_8b1xk5MVokHZSwn5OGzC_I8Zfagi3yMcG8yk1BkzyjA_G6W5roLFoVpJUFBY2VGvKOd1qybRZdOqwIVvADxacYL0pnqwT18yeqbxHLhAhaVj8u6FrR_S09nZlQMBiJ7mBPEEJH-8y6SzIfj-bDZ8sQMljCZ-7WClSQyCBNstSTDoJr-0nqgRYgma_gD3jIEw57CDyCZV7iukoFkiWeAD0OhK5IM1_n8ppQV9gKkOKatz51wAyXnIFpw8OMu8JlbdKvIIqFKVaOnBmrWBstNo8B1BhBjQ2obfJYS7yUhTr-aNtCEOt2Br826VSzIDYruYjBnMSahKDW3vwudUuOoO-gjOTukOZ2s5N35FC8bZfF5l5P0k_u9-Y3
linkProvider IEEE
linkToHtml http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwlV1LS8NAEB6KCurBVxWrVffgRWjaZPNo11spLRXb0kMPvYVkswuFkmrTCv4df6mzm02rKIKQQwI7yZJvHzM7jw_gnjLOcQJySzpUWJ5MEosFLWm1Alu4PMY9zOGabKI5GrWmUzYuQW2TCyOE0MFnoq5utS8_WfC1OiprKB-p30IDfdf3POrk2Vobn4HnmyKMDk5hlzmFU9JmjUl3qKK4vDpuUKrE-bdNSLOq_FiK9f7SO_5fz07gyOiRpJ0DfwolkZ7B4ZfqgmX4GKrMymVGojQhbf66npn4LFKUpBUZQZ2VGPqOd5LzbWY10ikoVtSDEh-piFEynkdKQ38k-hwxT4kgef3jjCwk2Z7Tk7EJBsOe6BdsKUJId5tbdw6TXnfS6VuGksHiXkBXli_9SPhxlMSucBS8thfFLuoBIvAk_gFXMYXjKoIXDxI3olRKXwSRy1GTQ6EL2EkXqbgEQrktESmmmetjBw1xwQI0blgzYZTToAKNAqKQm3LlijVjHmqzxWYhghoqUEMDagUeNhIveamOP9qWFYibdga_ClSLURCauZyFaFCqqoSo2F79LnUH-_3JcBAOnkbP13CA3_HzuO4q7KyWa3EDe_xtNcuWt3rAfgIK7el-
openUrl ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Mergers+and+Acquisitions+Strategies+for+Industry+Leaders%2C+Challengers%2C+and+Niche+Players%3A+Interaction+Effects+of+Technology+Positioning+and+Industrial+Environment&rft.jtitle=IEEE+transactions+on+engineering+management&rft.au=Lin%2C+B&rft.au=Chen%2C+W&rft.au=Chu%2C+P&rft.date=2015-02-01&rft.pub=The+Institute+of+Electrical+and+Electronics+Engineers%2C+Inc.+%28IEEE%29&rft.issn=0018-9391&rft.eissn=1558-0040&rft.volume=62&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=80&rft_id=info:doi/10.1109%2FTEM.2014.2380822&rft.externalDBID=NO_FULL_TEXT&rft.externalDocID=3571732391
thumbnail_l http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/lc.gif&issn=0018-9391&client=summon
thumbnail_m http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/mc.gif&issn=0018-9391&client=summon
thumbnail_s http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/sc.gif&issn=0018-9391&client=summon