Purpose: This paper aims to examine how integration modes impact the acquirer knowledge diffusion capacity of overseas mergers and acquisitions (M&As) effected by emerging market firms and the role played by the global innovation network position of the acquiring firms in affecting this relationship.Design/methodology/approach: Through the use of structural equation modelling and bootstrap testing, the hypotheses are tested by drawing upon a sample of 102 overseas M&As effected by listed Chinese manufacturing companies.Findings: The results show that acquirers from emerging countries are unable to increase the knowledge diffusion capacity unless they choose the right post-merger integration mode. This paper also finds that the relationship between integration mode and knowledge diffusion is channelled through the centrality and structural holes of acquirers in the global innovation networks. When considering the combinations of different resource similarities and complementarities of the acquired firms, differences emerge in the integration model and network embedded path of acquirers in emerging countries.Practical implications: Emerging market multinational enterprises should consider post-merger integration as a crucial facilitator to the crafting of global innovation network positions that promote knowledge diffusion. The choices of integration mode and brand management autonomy should be matched with the resource similarities and complementarities that exist between the acquirer and target firms.Originality/value: Based on the resource orchestration theory and by focussing on network centrality and structural hole as the crucial links, this study provides a nuanced understanding of the relationship between post-merger integration and knowledge diffusion and sheds light on latecomer firms from emerging countries.

The existing literature highlights the role of digital technology innovation in driving the international performance of enterprises. However, it has largely overlooked the nonlinear relationships that emerge from their quest for contributing towards global sustainable development goals. Our study explores the nonlinear influence of digital technology innovation on firms’ international performance, further investigating how this relationship may be moderated by sustainability readiness, as measured through sustainable technological capabilities and sustainable certification standards. Using a double fixed effects model on a sample of 269 Chinese listed digital enterprises from 2012 to 2019, our findings reveal a U-shaped relationship between digital technology innovation and internationalization performance, which is more pronounced for firms with superior sustainable technological capabilities. However, the influence of sustainable certification standards is less noticeable. We further identify notable differences between the digital service and digital manufacturing sectors, thereby enriching our comprehension of the complex relationships between digital innovation, sustainability readiness, and international performance.

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) undertaken by emerging market firms have been associated with competitive advantage. However, little research has focused on the transferability of this enhanced competitive advantage. Even less is known about the role played by state-owned enterprises. This paper investigates whether Chinese information and communications technology firms that undertake cross-border M&As can improve their non-location bound competitive advantage. We used cross-border data between 2010 and 2017 and propensity-score matching and differences-in-differences approaches. We found that cross-border M&As significantly improve the home-country-bound competitive advantage. However, the effect on non-location bound competitive advantage is not significant. From the perspective of impact mechanism, this is due to a crowding-out effect of cross-border M&As on research and development (R&D) investment which inhibits non-location bound advantages. It also results from state-owned enterprises which are generally considered to have institutional advantages, not effectively using cross-border M&As to enhance their competitive advantages. This research distinguishes and quantifies home-country-bound competitive advantage and non-location bound competitive advantage and establishes a framework for how cross-border M&As enhance enterprise competitive advantage. It provides an explanation for the extant research on whether state-owned enterprises can enhance their competitive advantage through cross-border M&As, and what kind of advantage they attain.