國際新創事業從事跨國併購活動之研究

Abstract

對於涉及國際新創事業（born globals，以下簡稱”BG”）的跨國併購，目前尚缺少相關研究。值得研究的問題包括： (1) BG 在企業發展的哪一個階段經歷併購？(2) 企業併購對BG的發展有何影響？(3) BG所從事的企業併購有何特點？(4) 不同特性（例如創立者的財務能力或是商業模式）的BG，是否在發展模式及企業併購方面有不同的表現？本論文首先就BG、企業併購、國際投資等議題進行文獻探討及實證研究，企圖瞭解現有資料及尚待研究之處。根據文獻探討及實證研究，本論文發展出若干命題。其次，本論文研究十五個案例，以驗證上述命題是否成立。最後，根據本論文的研究發現，作者提出若干結論及具有管理意涵的建議。 本論文主要的研究發現包括：(1) BG 的國際化較其他類型的企業更形仰賴併購，目的是盡早實現產品/服務/技術全球化的策略目標。(2) 若干BG在發展策略中納入併購考量，並在創立初期即開始進行多次企業併購，此種BG可成為「併購導向BG」。(3) 涉及BG的跨國併購多數屬於全球層次、境外的併購，相較於在各國進行個別的併購（為達到市場進入的目的），此種全球層次的併購可以使BG一次得到許多市場的據點。(4) 具有不同特性（例如創立者的財務能力或是商業模式）的BG可能經歷不同的發展路徑及併購活動。然而，案例顯示，不論其特性為何，多數BG終究選擇被大型跨國企業併購，而非自行成長、發展為大企業。 本論文的研究限制為：(1) 所探討的案例絕大多數與網際網路有關，產業類型過於單一。(2) 案例雖然各有代表性，但數目過少，有樣本數不足的風險。(3) 關於併購的資料過少，此雖與併購交易的實務特性有關，但仍有待進一步的補充。後續研究方向可能包括：(a) 不同的併購架構（例如槓桿收購，管理層收購，現金/換股的併購組合），如何影響BG的發展模式與路徑? (b) 本論文的命題適用於其他產業時，可能得到的不同結論與意涵。(c) 政府關於跨國併購的法令政策是否影響BG的發展模式與路徑。 關鍵字：國際新創事業，企業併購，直接對外投資，國際化，創業者，外國市場進入，網際網路，網路公司，中小企業

Cross-border M&As involving born globals are under-researched, leading to the following questions: (1) When do born globals engage in M&A? (2) What is the role of M&A for the growth of born globals? (3) Are there any distinguishing features of the M&As engaged by born globals? (4) Do born globals with different characteristics, such as the founder’s financial capability or the business models for local establishment, fare differently in terms of growth pattern and M&A? Propositions are made based on literature review and empirical studies. Then, this paper studies 15 cases involving born globals and cross-border M&As. Based on the case studies, this paper examines the propositions and comes up with a number of findings, from which conclusions are drawn and managerial implications are suggested. Major findings are as follows: (1) Born globals’ internationalization relies more heavily on M&A than other companies, in order to realize their strategy of reaching the global market early. (2) Some born globals factor in M&As for their growth strategy and may be a sub-group termed “M&A-driven born globals”. (3) Most of born globals’ cross-border M&As are conducted at the global and offshore level (i.e., having access to multiple markets at once), rather than for the foreign entry into each individual country. (4) Born globals with different characteristics, e.g., financial capability of the founders, may experience different growth pattern involving M&A. However, most born globals will be acquired or merged by larger, better-established MNEs, as opposed to growing up to be large firms by their own earnings and expansion. There is a number of limitation on the research of this paper: (1) The 15 cases studied in this paper are mostly Internet-enabled firms. (2) The number of cases is limited. (3) The data for M&A, cross-border and domestic, is insufficient. Areas for future research may include: (1) How would different M&A structures, e.g., LBO, MBO, Cash v. share swap, impact on the growth pattern of born globals? (2) The propositions suggested in this paper may be tested in other sectors. (3) Government policies and laws/regulations on cross-border M&A may be studied to find out whether the country-level factors are important for the growth pattern of born globals.