Towards a more inclusive notion of values in acquisition research

Acquisition research is intensely concerned with how acquisitions affect economic value, primarily looking at shareholder value, while overlooking or ascribing other values a subordinate role. We argue that this is unnecessarily restrictive and leaves out important values in acquisitions. To remedy this state of affairs, we critically engage with the notion of value in acquisitions with the aim of enriching acquisition research by recognizing a multitude of values present in acquisitions but largely unrecognized as such in research. Arguing value is an umbrella construct, we adopt a stakeholder approach and conduct a problematizing review focusing on key studies of economic and non-economic values in acquisitions, also enriched with other acquisition and business literature. Apart from challenging the underpinning assumptions of the dominating view of value denoting acquiring shareholders’ financial wealth, we identify non-economic marginalized values that are only rarely studied, including justice or gender equality, and pertinent neglected values, including the natural environment. We propose a research agenda around a broader range of dynamic, multifaceted values.