This research explores the impact of national culture on cross-border acquisitions. National culture can influence the ways managers cope with uncertainty, and their subsequent business decisions, as was described in seminal research by Hofstede (1991). By their very nature, cross-border acquisitions require that managers deal with different cultures and higher levels of uncertainty. We seek to understand how national culture affects value in cross-border acquisitions using data from the Asia-Pacific Rim region over the period between 2000 and 2009. The countries of this region have large cultural differences and the potential gains from acquisitions are very substantial, so these data are an excellent population for analysis. Our results show that different national cultures have an important influence on financial decisions by firms in ways consistent with classic research by Knight (2006), and also that different national cultures cope with uncertainty in different ways. We find that acquirers from countries with a high aversion to uncertainty conduct fewer cross-border acquisitions. Further, these high uncertainty aversion firms pay a higher price for control in cross-border deals. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Purpose – This paper aims to clarify how to develop characters business models by utilizing new business concepts. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines three cases in Japan to innovate characters business models: Duffy, Hello Kitty and Kumamon. Findings – The paper suggests that utilizing experience-based promotions, open innovation and a royalty-free strategy enhances customer loyalty to characters, expands customer targets and encourages autonomous collaboration of stakeholders. Originality/value – These case studies clarify how new business models aim to increase customer loyalty to characters and widen customer targets beyond generation, industry and country.

Purpose – This paper seeks to analyse Steel Partners' investments and activism targeting United Industrial, Ronson, and BKF Capital to provide context for the debate surrounding shareholder activism by hedge funds and how incumbent management should cope with it. Steel Partners is one of the busiest and most controversial activist investors in both the USA and Japan. Design/methodology/approach – An in-depth clinical analysis of Steel Partners activism at three targets is performed. Context is then provided with a broader study of 63 companies targeted by Steel Partners. Findings – The paper reveals that Steel achieved remarkably different degrees of success with each target. This analysis suggests the use of longer post-activism windows to examine performance, more nuanced definitions of successful activism, and the inclusion of officer and director ownership as a predictor of activist success and target performance. Practical implications – Managers wishing to maintain their independence face a difficult balancing act. One option is simply to refuse to negotiate, preferably while maintaining a substantial ownership stake. However, the activist might launch a proxy fight or hostile bid, file a lawsuit, or even encourage a wolf-pack type campaign. For activists, target selection, especially managerial ownership, and patience are important. Steel quickly achieved its goals at BKF and failed at Ronson despite maintaining its stake for more than 13 years. It suffered large losses in both cases. Originality/value – This paper provides researchers and practitioners with additional insights into the debate concerning the value of hedge fund activism. It also suggests several new questions to researchers examining corporate governance and activism.

We analyze 377 takeovers that occurred in Japan between 2000 and 2007. Our focus is on the choice of payment method between cash and shares, the bidding premium, the market valuation of a bidder and a target, and the share price reaction. We relate the findings to the two complimentary theories of takeover motives
the Q-theory and the misvaluation theory. We have found that in Japan cash offers tend to occur when an acquirer and a target are highly valued on B/P basis, and when target's size in terms of market cap. is larger relative to bidder's size. The bidding premium tends to be higher when a bidder's valuation is higher, when a target's valuation is lower, and when target's market cap. is smaller relative to bidder's market cap. The choice of payment method (cash or stock) does not affect the bidding premium. Buyer's CARs are higher when target's market cap. is larger relative to bidder's market cap. Target's CARs are higher when a bidder's valuation is higher, when a target's valuation is lower, and when cash is used to pay for a takeover. Japanese takeover market was very small before the late 1990s and then quickly expanded in the 21st century, so that we are among the first to explore it. Our findings under the recent merger wave in Japan are in contrast with Dong et al. (2006), and are consistent with the Q-theory. We believe that the Japanese management has so far conducted a takeover based on managerial and strategic objectives. Our results also provide an explanation for the finding of Kang et al. (2000) and others who report that that on average a takeover announcement in Japan is greeted with positive share price reaction of both a bidder and a target.

This paper examines the new development of hostile takeovers and shareholder activism in Japan. The hostile bidders claim that the threat of takeover which they pose on the management of a poorly managed company is not only to their benefit, but also to that of the target company in general, because the management will run the company better to maximize its value. Nearly a decade having passed since the first-ever hostile TOB attempt in Japan by M&amp
A Consulting (MAC), an investment fund led by Mr. Yoshihiro Murakami in January 2000, we examine the stock price and operating performance of the companies whose shares were bought by the MAC. We find that the shareholders of the target companies indeed enjoyed large positive abnormal returns in the two years following the news. We report, however, that their operating performance declined over the four fiscal years following such news. There is little evidence so far that the threat of a hostile takeover improved the actual operating performance of the target firm.

This paper examines the long-term operating performance following 69 mergers of manufacturing firms traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange during 1969 to 1999. We find evidence of improvements in operating performance for the entire sample, and that the pre- and post-merger performance is highly correlated. Moreover, the long-term performance is significantly greater following mergers of firms operating in different industries. Increases in employment surrounding the mergers are positively related to post-merger performance among diversifying mergers and mergers completed before the peak of the equity bubble in 1989. The results suggest that the primary beneficiaries of consolidation are firms that expand the scope of business of the acquiring company. Finally, existing relationships among merging firms and mergers with distressed targets are not related to post-merger performance. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.