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국회도서관 홈으로 정보검색 소장정보 검색

결과 내 검색

동의어 포함

초록보기

인공지능, 빅데이터 분석, 클라우드 등의 새로운 정보기술의 역할이 중요해지고 IT기반 비즈니스 환경이 급변하면서 소프트웨어 기술은 오늘날 사업에서 필수적이다. 이로 인해 여러 비즈니스 영역에서 소프트웨어 기술의 사용이 증가하는 것과 동시에 기업의 소프트웨어 회사 인수는 기업이 확장하고 성장할 수 있는 기회로 여겨진다.

본 연구에서는 IT기업을 하드웨어와 소프트웨어 기업으로 구분하고, 2003년부터 2020년까지 미국 내 IT기업의 3,442건 거래를 기준으로 인수기업의 부의 영향을 살펴본다. 소프트웨어 기업의 인수합병 발표 전후로 누리는 시너지 효과를 살펴보기 위해 본 연구는 누적초과수익률(CAR)을 분석했다. 분석 결과로 소프트웨어 기업이 소프트웨어 기업을 인수할 때 양의 초과수익률을 나타냈지만, 하드웨어 기업의 인수합병은 결과가 유의미하지 않았다. 마지막으로, 기업 유형에 따른 시너지 효과의 차이를 측정했을 때, 소프트웨어-소프트웨어 기업 간의 인수합병이 하드웨어-소프트웨어 간 인수합병보다 더 큰 시너지 효과를 누리는 것을 발견했다. 이와 같이, 본 연구는 인수기업을 두 유형으로 나누어 소프트웨어 기업과 인수합병 전후 시너지 효과를 비교하여 M&A 성과를 이론적으로 설명하고 실증적으로 검증함으로써 IS 분야에 학문적으로 기여한다. 또한, 실무적으로는 IT 업계의 인수합병의 전략적 결정에 가이드라인을 제공할 수 있다.

In this paper, we examine the effects of the acquirer’s wealth based on 3,442 transactions of the tech companies between 2003 and 2020. Despite the strategic moves of tech companies that have long shaped the competitive dynamics of the IT industry, the value created from the acquisition of software companies has been the least studied. Thus, we examined both the hardware and software sectors to determine whether the acquisition of software firms is value enhancing. Specifically, we explored whether acquisitions of software targets are beneficial to the acquiring technology firms’ shareholders and whether acquisitions of software firms bring different returns for software versus hardware tech firms. The purpose of this study was to test whether software firms and hardware firms yield positive abnormal returns from acquiring software targets in the U.S. M&A market.

Event study methodology and regression model were used in this study, In particular, we applied the event study methodology to calculate the abnormal returns for acquirers around the announcement day, which is used as the dependent variable in this research model. Our results showed that the synergy effects enjoyed by the acquirer around the merger and acquisition announcement yielded positive returns for software firms when the firms acquired software targets. However, we did not find a comparable level of synergy gains around announcement dates when hardware firms acquired software targets. The findings have important implications for strategic decisions of mergers and acquisitions in the IT industry.

This study contributes to the M&A literature in IS by narrowing the acquirers to software and hardware companies in the U.S. market. The acquisition of the target, the software business, was used to explicitly compare the different yields for the two types of acquirers. The theoretical explanation for the stock market reactions was given, as well as the empirical evidence to support the hypotheses. In the IS literature, insufficient research has been conducted to link different types of IT firms’ expansion of software through M&A transactions, nor have the theoretical grounds been developed to explain whether, how, and why software target acquisitions affect acquirer performance. This study contributes to the literature by theoretically explaining and empirically validating the link between tech companies’ foundational product sector and the performance of software-led M&As. In examining short-run abnormal returns, because of the organizational dissimilarities between hardware tech acquirers and software targets, the potential for synergy creation may be thwarted. These results serve as a cautionary tale to hardware-based tech companies. Although it may be tempting for firms to veer into either IT convergence, the subscription business, digital transformation, or acquisition of new information technologies such as artificial intelligence, which are the trajectories set by tech giants, there is a steep learning curve for mastering a viable software-centric business model. The mastery required in manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, marketing, and distribution may already be challenging for some hardware companies. Even with their top-notch financial, experiential, and human resources, the hardware firms included in the analyses could not reach the full potential of the software-led expansion approach. The detrimental stock returns experienced by some of the hardware firms’ acquisitions in the analyses could prove fatal to less established tech companies.