Abstract:

A half or more of cross-border M&A in Malaysia had resulted in a failure and did not achieve a good performance what they expect to achieve in the past (Jansen, 2002). Many of the previous cross-border M&A studies were either fragmented (Larsson & Finkelstein, 1999; Deng, 2010) or scattered (Kish & Vasconcellos, 1993). None of the previous study has focused on examining knowledge transfer in cross-border M&A. This research is therefore conducted to provide a holistic research framework that incorporates key socio-cultural factors affecting knowledge transfer in cross-border M&A. This research will provide empirical suggestion to domestic companies to improve the current management of cultural differences that may be the main reason for the high failure rates of knowledge transfer in international M&A.