Have a personal or library account? Click to login
M&A motives in the German SME sector: The perception of M&A advisors Cover

M&A motives in the German SME sector: The perception of M&A advisors

Open Access
|Dec 2025

References

  1. Agarwal, N., & Kwan, P. (2018). Pricing mergers with differential synergies. Strategic Change, 27(1), 3–7.
  2. Alhenawi, Y., & Krishnaswami, S. (2015). Long-term impact of merger synergies on performance and value. Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 58, 93–118.
  3. Amihud, Y., & Lev, B. (1981). Risk reduction as a managerial motive for conglomerate mergers. Bell Journal of Economics, 12(2), 605–617.
  4. Ang, J. S. (1991). Small business uniqueness and the theory of financial management. The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, 1(1), 11–13.
  5. Arvanitis, S., & Stucki, T. (2014). How Swiss small and medium-sized firms assess the performance impact of mergers and acquisitions. Small Business Economics, 42(2), 339–360.
  6. Arvanitis, S., & Stucki, T. (2015). Do mergers and acquisitions among small and medium-sized enterprises affect the performance of acquiring firms?. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 33(7), 752–773.
  7. Battisti, M., & Williamson, A. J. (2015). The role of intermediaries in the small business transfer process. Small Enterprise Research, 22(1), 32–48.
  8. Becker, W., Ulrich, P., & Botzkowski, T. (2016). Mergers & Acquisitions im Mittelstand. Best Practices für den Akquisitionsprozess. Springer Gabler.
  9. Bena, J., & Li, K. (2014). Corporate innovations and mergers and acquisitions. Journal of Finance, 69(5), 1923–1960.
  10. Bonaime, A., Gulen, H., & Ion, M. (2018). Does policy uncertainty affect mergers and acquisitions?. Journal of Financial Economics, 129(3), 531–558.
  11. Bonardo, D., Paleari, S., & Vismara, S. (2010). The M&A dynamics of European science-based entrepreneurial firms. Journal of Technology Transfer, 35(1), 141–180.
  12. Campbell, W. K., Campbell, S. M., Siedor, L. E., & Twenge, J. M. (2015). Generational differences are real and useful. In Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Vol. 8, pp. 324–408). Cambridge University Press.
  13. Chang, S., & Mais, E. (2000). Managerial motives and merger financing. Financial Review, 35(4), 139–152.
  14. Chirico, F., Gómez-Mejia, L. R., Hellerstedt, K., Withers, M., & Nordqvist, M. (2020). To merge, sell, or liquidate? Socioemotional wealth, family control, and the choice of business exit. Journal of Management, 46(8), 1342–1379.
  15. Cumming, D., Jindal, V., Kumar, S., & Pandey, N. (2023). Mergers and acquisitions research in finance and accounting: Past, present, and future. European Financial Management, 29(5), 1464–1504.
  16. DeTienne, D. R. (2010). Entrepreneurial exit as a critical component of the entrepreneurial process: Theoretical development. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(2), 203–215.
  17. Diep, B. H., & Anh, T. T. (2020). Synergies in merger and acquisition: A case study of SMEs in Vietnam. Journal of Project Management (Canada), 5(3), 189–200.
  18. Dutordoir, M., Roosenboom, P., & Vasconcelos, M. (2014). Synergy disclosures in mergers and acquisitions. International Review of Financial Analysis, 31, 88–100.
  19. European Commission. (2023). SME Country Fact Sheets. https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/smes/sme-strategy/sme-performance-review_en#paragraph_885.
  20. Eurostat. (2023). Services by employment size class (NACE Rev. 2, H-N, S95). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat.
  21. Falkner, E. M., & Hiebl, M. R. W. (2015). Risk management in SMEs: A systematic review of available evidence. Journal of Risk Finance, 16(2), 122–144.
  22. García, C. J., & Herrero, B. (2022). Corporate entrepreneurship and governance: Mergers and acquisitions in Europe. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 182, 121845.
  23. Gorton, G., Kahl, M., & Rosen, R. J. (2009). Eat or be eaten: A theory of mergers and firm size. Journal of Finance, 64(3), 1291–1344.
  24. Grundström, C., Öberg, C., & Öhrwall Rönnbäck, A. (2012). Family-owned manufacturing SMEs and innovativeness: A comparison between within-family successions and external takeovers. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 3(3), 162–173.
  25. Harada, N. (2007). Which firms exit and why? An analysis of small firm exits in Japan. Small Business Economics, 29(4), 401–414.
  26. Hirigoyen, G., & Basly, S. (2019). The 2008 financial and economic crisis and the family business sale intention: A study of a French SMEs sample. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 26(4), 571–594.
  27. Hoberg, G., & Phillips, G. (2010). Product market synergies and competition in mergers and acquisitions: A text-based analysis. Review of Financial Studies, 23(10), 3773–3811.
  28. Jensen, M. G. (2012). Takeovers: Their causes and consequences. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2(1), 21–48.
  29. Kindström, D., Carlborg, P., & Nord, T. (2022). Challenges for growing SMEs: A managerial perspective. Journal of Small Business Management, 62(2), 700–723.
  30. Larsson, R., & Finkelstein, S. (1999). Integrating strategic, organizational, and human resource perspectives on mergers and acquisitions: A case survey of synergy realization. Organization Science, 10(1), 1–26.
  31. Marjański, A., Sułkowski, Ł., Marjańska-Potakowska, J., & Staniszewska, K. (2019). Social capital drives SME growth: A study of family firms in Poland. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 33, 280–304.
  32. Matalamäki, M., Varamäki, E., Viljamaa, A., Tall, J., & Mäkelä, A.-M. (2020). Unsuccessful SME business transfers. Journal of Enterprising Culture, 28, 121–146.
  33. McEntire, M. H., & Bentley, J. C. (1996). When rivals become partners: Acculturation in a newly-merged organization. The International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 4(2), 154–174.
  34. Mickelson, R. E., & Worley, C. (2003). Acquiring a family firm: A case study. Family Business Review, 16(4), 251–268.
  35. Nisar, S., Boateng, A., Wu, J., & Leung, M. (2012). Understanding the motives for SMEs entry choice of international entry mode. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 30(7), 717–739.
  36. Nordqvist, M., Wennberg, K., Bau’, M., & Hellerstedt, K. (2013). An entrepreneurial process perspective on succession in family firms. In Small Business Economics (Vol. 40, pp. 1087–1122). Kluwer Academic Publishers.
  37. Parastuty, Z., Breitenecker, R. J., Schwarz, E. J., & Harms, R. (2016). Exploring the motives and ways to exit: the entrepreneur perspective. In D. Bögenhold, J. Bonnet, M. Dejardin, & D. Garcia Pérez de Lema (Eds.), Contemporary entrepreneurship: multidisciplinary perspectives on innovation and growth (pp. 159–172). Springer.
  38. Parry, E., & Urwin, P. (2011). Generational differences in work values: A review of theory and evidence. International Journal of Management Reviews, 13, 79–96.
  39. Ponikvar, N., Zajc Kejžar, K., & Peljhan, D. (2018). The role of financial constraints for alternative firm exit modes. Small Business Economics, 51(1), 85–103.
  40. Ronstadt, R. (1986). Exit, stage left why entrepreneurs end their entrepreneurial careers before retirement. Journal of Business Venturing, 1(3), 323–338.
  41. Rowley, J. (2014). Designing and using research questionnaires. Management Research Review, 37(3), 308–330.
  42. Sales, A. C. S., & Zanini, M. T. F. (2017). Investigating the deal making failure in M&A: Deal makers’ perspective in Brazil. Revista de Administração, 52(4), 467–478.
  43. Steen, A., Turpie, K., & Ng, G. W. (2014). Microcap M&A: An exploratory study. Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal, 8(2), 52–70.
  44. Suryaningrum, D. H., Abdul Rahman, A. A., Meero, A., & Cakranegara, P. A. (2023). Mergers and acquisitions: Does performance depend on managerial ability?. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 12(1), 30.
  45. Taherdoost, H. (2016). How to design and create an effective survey/questionnaire; A step by step guide. International Journal of Academic Research in Management, 5(4), 37–41.
  46. The Commission of European Communities. (2023). Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (Text with EEA relevance). https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/6ca8d655-126b-4a42-ada4-e9058fa45155.
  47. Trautwein, F. (1990). Merger motives and merger prescriptions. Strategic Management Journal, 11(4), 283–295.
  48. Vlacseková, D., & Mura, L. (2017). Effect of motivational tools on employee satisfaction in small and medium enterprises. Oeconomia Copernicana, 8(1), 111–130.
  49. Weitzel, U., & McCarthy, K. J. (2011). Theory and evidence on mergers and acquisitions by small and medium enterprises. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 14(2/3), 248–275.
  50. Wennberg, K., Wiklund, J., DeTienne, D. R., & Cardon, M. S. (2010). Reconceptualizing entrepreneurial exit: Divergent exit routes and their drivers. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(4), 361–375.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijme-2025-0022 | Journal eISSN: 2543-5361 | Journal ISSN: 2299-9701
Language: English
Page range: 13 - 25
Submitted on: Aug 29, 2024
|
Accepted on: Aug 21, 2025
|
Published on: Dec 30, 2025
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

© 2025 Anna Blajer-Gołębiewska, Magdalena Markiewicz, Heike Stolte, published by Warsaw School of Economics
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.