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Sticky Decisions: Anchoring and Equity Stakes in International Acquisitions

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Journal of Management

Published online on

Abstract

This study proposes an anchoring perspective on international equity ownership decisions. Given the complex, uncertain nature of such decisions, we recognize the potential for heuristics such as anchoring to replace time-consuming and information-intensive analyses; specifically, top managers might draw on the recent international equity ownership decisions of others to determine how much equity stake to purchase in foreign target firms. Drawing on standard regression methods and more recently developed hedonic regression techniques, this study reveals some systematic effects of anchoring in international equity ownership decisions. Anchoring is more likely when international acquisitions occur under informational deficiencies in genuinely uncertain settings but less likely when the acquiring firms are managed by overconfident CEOs.