Abstract:How does the national top-level strategy affect the financial and innovative performance of micro-enterprises in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A)? Although the study of this question has both theoretical value and practical significance, it has been rarely explored for a long time. This study constructs a quasi-natural experiment based on the Belt and Road initiative, a national top-level strategy, and employs a difference-in-differences (DID) model to examine the impact of this initiative on the financial and innovative performance of cross-border M&A by Chinese listed companies. The results show that after the initiative was proposed, compared to M&As in non-Belt and Road countries, Chinese listed companies' M&As in Belt and Road countries can significantly enhance the post-acquisition company's stock market performance, innovation output, and production efficiency. Further research on the impact mechanism of the Belt and Road initiative reveals that it mainly improves the financial and innovative performance of cross-border M&A by enhancing political trust and cultural exchanges between China and Belt and Road countries, optimizing the investment environment of the host country, and introducing investment preferential policies, thereby reducing the information communication costs and policy uncertainties in cross-border M&A. This study not only deepens and expands the research in the field of cross-border M&A from the new perspective of national top-level strategy but also provides a theoretical basis for the government to further promote the Belt and Road construction.

Keywords: Belt and Road Initiative; Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions; Stock Market Performance; Corporate Innovation; Production Efficiency

About the Author

Li Ao, a lecturer at the School of Finance, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, specializes in corporate finance, corporate governance, and corporate innovation. She received her bachelor's degree in Accounting (ACCA) from the School of Management at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, her master's degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Sheffield in the UK, and her Ph.D. in Finance from the School of Management at Xiamen University. Her papers have been published in both domestic and international academic journals such as World Economy, Journal of Management Sciences, International Review of Financial Analysis, Energy Economics, International Review of Economics and Finance, and Environmental Impact Assessment Review. She is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).