Title Page
ABSTRACT
Contents
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 9
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 15
2.1. Information disclosure and transparency 15
2.2. Merger and acquisition process and information asymmetry 15
2.3. Determinants of M&A completion 17
CHAPTER 3. HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT 19
3.1. How target's ESG transparency can impact merger and acquisition process 19
3.2. Moderating effect of acquisition experience 21
3.3. Moderating effect of cultural distance in cross-border acquisitions 23
CHAPTER 4. METHODS 26
4.1. Data and sample 26
4.2. Measures 27
CHAPTER 5. RESULTS 30
5.1. Robustness check and additional analysis 35
CHAPTER 6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 39
CHAPTER 7. LIMITATION AND FUTURE RESEARCH 43
REFERENCES 46
APPENDICES(or SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS) 53
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics and Correlations 31
Table 2. Main results 33
Table 3. Robustness check 36
Table 4. Marginal effects of each ESG pillar on M&A completion likelihood 38
Figure 1. Moderating effect of acquisition experience of the acquirer on the relationship between the ESG transparency of the target and M&A completion likelihood 34
Figure 2. Moderating effect of acquisition experience of the acquirer on the relationship between the ESG transparency of the target and M&A completion likelihood 34