Institutional Determinants of Acquisition Strategies: Empirical Evidence on the Effects of Corruption in Russia

This paper aims at contributing to an improved understanding of the effects of corruption on acquisition behavior in the context of an emerging economy. While prior research has found that corruption predominantly has negative effects on economic activity, we find that corruption increases the likelihood that firms will engage in acquisition activities. Based on an analysis of the acquisition behavior of 2,981 firms in 40 regions in Russia during 2001-2008, we find that this effect is strongest in regions in which the local government has high autonomy and among weaker performing firms. We provide a possible explanation for these somewhat counter-intuitive findings.

Biography
Tomi Laamanen is Chaired Professor of Strategic Management, Director of the Institute of Management, and Director of the PhD Program of Strategy of the University of St.Gallen. Tomi’s research focuses on strategic management with a special emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, management cognition, strategy process, capability dynamics, and management’s cognition. Tomi is Associate Editor of the Strategic Management Journal and member of the Editorial Boards of Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Discovery, and Journal of Management. At the moment, Tomi chairs the Strategic Management SIG of Euram, the Strategy-as-Practice (SAP) division of the Academy of Management, and co-chairs the SMS Strategy Research Foundation (SRF), and the upcoming Strategic Management Society Special Conference in St.Gallen. In addition, Tomi has actively worked with a number of firms as Chairman, Member of the Board, or consultant.