Chengguang Li

• Li, C.; Shenkar, O.; Newburry, W.; Tang, Y., (Forthcoming), "How Country Reputation Differentials Influence Market Reaction to International Acquisitions", Journal of Management Studies.
  Abstract: This study investigates the influence of country reputation differentials on market reaction to international acquisitions. Building on social identity theory, we argue that market reactions are more positive when the reputation of the acquirer’s country is better than that of the target’s, since a country’s reputation imprints on its firms due to social categorization. Thus, firms from countries with better reputations are perceived as having superior skills/capabilities and the reputation difference suggests that the acquirer is able to identify/exploit undervalued targets and leverage synergies. The influence of country reputation should be weaker when additional information on the merging firms is present, through news media reporting and analyst coverage of the merging firms as well as the acquirer’s prior acquisition track record, since market investors will rely less on country reputation. We find support for our hypotheses for a sample of 4,792 international acquisitions across 48 countries from 2009–2017.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/joms.12706

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joms.12706

• Li, C.; Reuer, J. R., (Forthcoming), "The impact of corruption on market reactions to international strategic alliances", Journal of International Business Studies.
  Abstract: Drawing on institutional theory, we argue that the level of corruption in an alliance partner’s country negatively affects the market reaction to a focal firm’s international strategic alliance announcement, as corruption creates uncertainty regarding the behavior of the partner firm. We further propose that anti-bribery laws in the focal firm’s home country strengthen the negative relation between corruption and market reactions, while the focal firm’s prior alliance experience in more corrupt countries and the level of corruption in its home country weaken the relationship. Analyses of over one thousand international strategic alliance announcements involving firms from 30 countries furnish evidence largely consistent with our theory. The findings indicate the importance of corruption as a facet of the institutional environment that shapes firms’ value creation opportunities and risks in international alliances.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057%2Fs41267-021-00404-7

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41267-021-00404-7

• Li, C.; Haleblian, J., (Forthcoming), "The influence of nation-level institutions on acquisition premiums: A cross-country comparative study", JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT.
  Abstract: We build on neo-institutional theory to examine the manner in which nation-level institutions systematically affect domestic acquisitions, i.e. acquisitions involving acquirers and targets from the same country. Specifically, we study in what way premiums are influenced through a set of cognitive, normative, and regulatory forces. In terms of cognitive pressures, we theorize that prior premium decisions of industry peers in the same country influence focal acquisition premiums, since prior premium decisions serve as reference frames for firms. In addition, we posit that normative forces in the form of the national cultural values of uncertainty avoidance, future orientation, and in-group collectivism affect bid premiums, as these factors influence the manner in which firms deal with the uncertainty, payoff time, and merger of groups inherent to acquisitions. Furthermore, we propose that a country’s regulatory pressures through its disclosure requirements influence premiums, since they reduce information asymmetries and affect a firm’s confidence in assessing its potential gains from acquisitions. Using a sample of domestic acquisitions, we find support for several of the hypotheses. Our work offers a cross-country comparative study of how nation-level institutions affect domestic bid premiums and makes theoretical contributions to acquisition premium research and institutional theory.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/01492063211010219

• Meyer, K. E.; Li, C.; Schotter, A., 2020, "Managing the MNE subsidiary: Advancing a multi-level and dynamic research agenda", Journal of International Business Studies, June 51(4): 538 - 576.
  Abstract: Multinational enterprise (MNE) subsidiaries abroad are important organizations in their own right. They typically hold some of the MNE's most critical resources, and operate at the forefront of complex international environments. In this review, we identify and organize theoretical and empirical research on subsidiary management based on over 600 articles in leading academic journals. We develop a conceptual framework that integrates complementary streams of theoretical and empirical research with the subsidiary as its focal unit of analysis. In particular, we review six lines of research on subsidiary scope, practices, knowledge management, engagement with local market and nonmarket actors, performance, and individuals within subsidiaries. We highlight theoretical perspectives that have contributed to, and been advanced by, research on MNE subsidiaries. Based on the review, we explore future research agendas, linking the contemporary research themes with two main thrusts. First, subsidiary management is a multi-level phenomenon that would benefit from more microfoundational research. Second, subsidiary management operates at key interfaces of technology paradigm shifts, and of disruptions in the political and institutional environment. Research into the dynamics of subsidiary management would, thus, enhance our understanding of international business in a volatile global economy.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41267-020-00318-w

• Li, C.; Arikan, I.; Shenkar, O.; Arikan, A., 2020, "The impact of country-dyadic military conflicts on market reaction to cross-border acquisitions", Journal of International Business Studies, April 51(3): 299 - 325.
  Abstract: Our work examines the impact of country-dyadic military conflicts on market reaction to cross-border acquisitions (CBAs). Building on intergroup relations research, we theorize that country-dyadic military conflicts, weighted by their severity, trigger intergroup conflicts between the merging firms and, in so doing, hamper market reaction to CBA. Drawing on a sample that comprises 7,321 CBAs between 1988 and 2011, we find that country-dyadic military conflicts reduce acquirer returns following CBA announcements and that cultural similarity between acquirer and target countries weakens the relationship between military conflicts and market reaction to CBA while colonial ties between the countries, the target country’s national pride, and the target’s firm size reinforce the relationship. Our study contributes to an emerging body of work that examines the role of international politics/relations in international business.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41267-019-00268-y

• Gelfand, M.; Gordon, S.; Li, C.; Choi, V.; Prokopowicz, P., 2018, "One Reason Mergers Fail: The Two Cultures Aren’t Compatible", Harvard Business Review.
  Abstract: Amazon’s 2017 acquisition of Whole Foods was met with a lot of fanfare. The deal would allow Amazon to grow beyond e-commerce and collect significant shopper data, while Whole Foods could lower its prices and scale up after its recent declines in sales. But a year later, stories of Whole Foods employees crying on the job over Amazon’s changes have begun circulating, and some workers have even taken steps to explore unionizing. The two companies failed to investigate their cultural compatibility before merging, and now they stand on a fault line researchers call tightness versus looseness. Tight company cultures, like Amazon’s, value routine and use strict rules to uphold cultural traditions. Loose cultures, like Whole Foods’, eschew rules, encourage new ideas, and value discretion. When tight and loose cultures merge, there is a good chance that they will clash — but, if diagnosed early, these clashes can be handled productively. To avoid the pitfalls experienced by Amazon and Whole Foods, companies considering merging should: (1) Prepare to negotiate culture from the start and identify areas for compromise. (2) Construct a prenup that outlines their integration plan. (3) Make sure everyone across both organizations understands what changes will be made and why they will be made. (4) Embrace trial and error.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://hbr.org/2018/10/one-reason-mergers-fail-the-two-cultures-arent-compatible

• Li, C.; Isidor, R.; Dau, L.; Kabst, R., 2018, "The more the merrier? Immigrant share and entrepreneurial activities", Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, August 42(5): 698 - 733.
  Abstract: We examine the relationship between immigrant share and entrepreneurial activities in a country. Building on knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship (KSTE), we hypothesize that immigrant share positively relates to the creation, growth, and export activities of new firms through knowledge spillover between immigrant and native communities. We further suggest that favorable attitudes of natives toward immigrants positively moderate this relationship. Using data for 32 countries from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, we find support for the hypothesized direct relationships and for the moderating influence of a nation's attitude toward immigrants. Our study has implications for KSTE and research on entrepreneurship and immigration.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1042258718795344

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1042258718795344

• Li, C.; Brodbeck, F. C.; Shenkar, O.; Ponzi, L. J.; Fisch, J. H., 2017, "Embracing the foreign: Cultural attractiveness and international strategy", Strategic Management Journal, April 38(4): 950 - 971.
  Abstract: Prior research focused on cultural differences and their impact on foreign direct investment (FDI), neglecting other potentially relevant variables attesting to the cultural interaction between a multinational enterprise and its host environment. In this article, we draw on interpersonal attraction research to develop a positive approach to cross‐cultural interaction with the cultural attractiveness (CA) construct, whereby members of a focal culture view another culture as desirable. We create a CA measure and establish its predictive validity with country reputation data. Using FDI data for 41 nations from 1985 to 2012 and performance data for 8,519 cross‐border acquisitions (CBA) for 40 nations from 1990 to 2009, we find that CA is a predictor of FDI inflows and CBA outcomes, whose explanatory power is superior to cultural difference measures.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/smj.2528

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smj.2528

• Li, C.; Parboteeah, K. P., 2015, "The effect of culture on the responsiveness of firms to mimetic forces: Imitative foreign joint venture entries into China, 1985–2003", Journal of World Business, July 50(3): 465 - 476.
  Abstract: Institutional theory suggests that firms imitate their peers when deciding to enter a foreign market in order to gain legitimacy and cope with uncertainty. There is little investigation, however, on how home country culture affects a firm's mimetic behavior as a response to institutional influences. To understand culture's role, this paper examines the effect of the cultural environment on mimetic foreign joint venture entries into China. Based on a sample of 1361 international joint venture entries in the 1985–2003 period, we find that the cultural dimensions individualism–collectivism and power distance significantly affect the responsiveness of firms to mimetic forces.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090951614000510#!

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2014.08.002

• Schneid,, M.; Isidor,, R.; Li, C.; Kabst,, R., 2015, "The influence of cultural context on the relationship between gender diversity and team performance: a meta-analysis", International Journal of Human Resource Management, March 26(6): 733 - 756.
  Abstract: The impact of gender diversity on team performance has become a central topic in the field of human resource management for researchers and practitioners alike. Extant research provides conflicting evidence on the relationship between gender diversity and team performance. To resolve these contradictory findings, we meta-analyze the relationship between gender diversity and two performance outcomes, namely task performance and contextual performance. Grounded in categorization-elaboration model, we simultaneously consider the positive and negative aspects of gender diversity. We further examine the effect of cultural context as a moderator on the relationship between gender diversity and team performance. Based on 71 independent samples from 68 studies published between 1996 and 2013, we find a significant negative relationship ( − 0.10) between gender diversity and contextual performance. Additionally, we find that the cultural dimensions gender egalitarianism and collectivism have significant moderating influences on the relationship between gender diversity and task performance.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2014.957712

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