Abstract:
With a growing interest in mergers and acquisitions to support corporate growth
ambitions, researchers and business practitioners remain concerned as a high ratio of
transactions lead to corporate value erosion. Priori literature has confirmed firm
capabilities as antecedents to merger and acquisition transactions, a dyadic relationship
between dynamic capabilities and these transactions, and that dynamic capabilities lead
to competitive advantage and profit.
However, literature suggests that existing developed market frameworks and priori
acquisition research do not apply to emerging market economies; thus, this research
context was set within a South African firm. The research setting addressed further
academic gaps on the limited practical application of dynamic capabilities research. This
research explored how dynamic capabilities impact acquisition decision-making to create
and capture value. It does so at the hand of a within-case and cross-case analysis of two
qualitative case studies of previous acquisition transactions of a South African
multination firm.
Research findings contribute to dynamic capabilities, by suggesting how acquisition
experience develops dynamic capabilities, and how value is created within acquisitions,
by utilising dynamic capabilities in decision-making. Furthermore, findings propose that
value capture to shareholders improves when decisions are aligned to strategy, offering
a business recommendation to improve chances of acquisition success
