Knowledge Transfer in Cross-Border Merger and Acquisition

This research is conducted to provide a holistic research framework that incorporates key sociocultural factors affecting knowledge transfer in cross-border M&A. This research will provide empirical suggestion to domestic companies to improve the current management of cultural differences that may be the main reason for the high failure rates of knowledge transfer in international M&A. A total of 10 domestic companies in Malaysia which had involved in cross-border M&A in the past 5 years participated in this study. The M&A cases were collected from the Thomson One Banker database. At the same time, this research has also cross-verified the selected cases with the Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia. During company visits, questionnaires were distributed to managers who had been identified through a purposive sampling method based on a list provided by the participating organizations. A total of 200 managers were selected to participate in the survey. Findings of this research indicate that organizational cultural difference has significant negative influence while relationship and trust has significant positive influence on knowledge transfer in cross-border M&A.