Recently, a collaborative paper titled "Differences in legal origins and ownership share in cross-border mergers and acquisitions: International empirical evidence," co-authored by Associate Professor Chen Weihong, master's student Tu Gengtao from the 2022 Applied Economics program (International Trade specialization), and Associate Professor Zhang Ming from Shenzhen University, was officially published in the 4th issue of 2026 of the International Business Review journal. Associate Professor Chen Weihong served as the first author, while Associate Professor Zhang Ming acted as the corresponding author.

Paper link: https://doi-org-s.vpn.gxu.edu.cn:8118/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2026.102578

Journal Overview

International Business Review, the official journal of the European Institute of Business Administration (EIBA) and published by Elsevier, specializes in publishing original and insightful research papers on international business theory and practice. Its coverage includes corporate internationalization strategies, cross-border operational management, and comparative analyses of business environments across different countries, establishing it as a highly influential and renowned authoritative journal in the field of international business. Published as an ABS biweekly, the journal is indexed by SSCI and ranks in the Q1 tier for both Business and Management disciplines. With an impact factor of 6.1 in 2024 and a five-year compound impact factor of 8.2, it maintains strong academic credibility.

Paper Introduction

This study examines how differences in legal origins between home countries and host countries influence the equity stake ratios held by acquirers in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The research indicates that legal origin disparities reduce the equity stakes acquired by acquirers by increasing uncertainty. Moreover, this negative correlation is mitigated when home countries and host countries sign regional trade agreements or when acquirers possess experience in cross-legal-origin M&A transactions. Analysis of 106,458 cross-border M&A deals spanning 98 home countries and 109 host countries from 2000 to 2021 validates these hypotheses. The study provides new insights into the critical role of legal origins in cross-border M&A decision-making processes.

About the Author

Chen Weihong, China—Associate Professor and Master's Supervisor at the ASEAN School of Economics/China—ASEAN School of Finance and Cooperation. His research focuses on multinational corporate strategy and innovation management. In recent years, he has published over 40 academic papers as first author or corresponding author in prestigious domestic and international journals such as International Business Review, International Marketing Review, Industrial Marketing Management, R&D Management, Technovation, Management World, Journal of Management Science, Nankai Management Review, China Industrial Economics, and Economics (Quarterly). He has led projects including the National Natural Science Foundation of China Youth Project, Guangxi Natural Science Foundation Youth Project, and Guangxi Higher Education Institutions Young and Middle-aged Teachers Capacity Enhancement Project. He has been awarded honors such as the Second Prize of the 10th Guangdong Provincial Philosophy and Social Sciences Outstanding Achievement Award and the Second Prize of the 21st An Zijie International Trade Research Award for Outstanding Papers.

Tu Gengtao, China—ASEAN School of Economics/China—ASEAN School of Finance, 2022 Master's student in Applied Economics (International Trade specialization), currently a doctoral candidate in Business Management at the School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, with a primary research focus on multinational corporate strategy and innovation management. In recent years, he has published papers in international authoritative journals such as the International Business Review and participated in numerous international management academic conferences, including the International Association for Chinese Management Research (IACMR), the annual conference of the China Management Scholars Exchange Camp, and the annual conference of the Organizational and Strategic Management Professional Committee of the China Management Modernization Research Association, where he presented his research papers. Additionally, Tu Gengtao has contributed to multiple national and provincial-level research projects, and his papers have been recognized as exemplary papers at the "2025 Organizational and Strategic Management Professional Committee Annual Conference" organized by the China Management Modernization Research Association's Organizational and Strategic Management Professional Committee.

Written by Chen Weihong

Translated by AI

Proof Read by Yu Na, Chen Yanyang

Edited by Gan Ziying

Reviewed by Gong Zheng