The evolution process of cross-border technological M&A network along the Belt and Road: Based on the data of high-tech enterprise targets

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions of high-tech enterprises (technological M&As), an important way for enterprises to acquire international advanced knowledge, have been rising worldwide in recent years. At the same time, the Belt and Road countries and regions have also attracted several large-scale technological M&As, which is of great significance for further promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative in the field of investment and technical cooperation. However, we remain almost clueless about this new phenomenon, especially in developing or less developed countries/regions along the Belt and Road, which show quite different characteristics and mechanisms in technological M&A activities from the developed ones. Therefore, based on the data for the cross-border M&As of targeting high-tech enterprises from 1998 to 2017, this paper explores the evolution characteristics and its mechanism of technological M&A network along the Belt and Road, via complex network analysis, the GIS method, and the zero-inflated negative binomial model. Our empirical results show that: (1) The scale, scope, and density of technological M&A network have increased significantly, but the level of networking is relatively low. Therefore, the number of countries/ regions, connection paths, and connection density in the network need to be further improved. (2) Although the industrial structure of technological M&A network is dominated by the information and communication technology industry, there is a pluralistic trend that enterprises from non-high-tech industries are also getting increasingly involved in technological M&A network. The number of companies that have acquired financial industries in Hong Kong of China and Singapore has increased significantly. (3) The spatial distribution of technological M&A network is extremely uneven. China, India, and Southeast Asia are found to be the rapid growth areas in the launch and receive for network connection, while the first-mover advantage of Central and Eastern Europe in the network became less obvious; Central Asia and the Caspian Sea surrounding areas do not have the ability to launch a network connection. (4) The evolution of technological M&A network is to varying degrees influenced by proximity indicators between countries/regions, which are related to geographical, historical and religious factors. However, in terms of the indicator attributes for each country/region, economic market size and regional stability level for technological M&A only affect receiving the network connection, while the technology level only affects launching from 2013 to 2017.