Olivier Lamotte
email: olamotte@em-normandie.fr

Ludivine Chalençon
email: ludivine.chalencon@univ-lyon3.fr

Ulrike Mayrhofer
email: ulrike.mayrhofer@univ-cotedazur.fr

Ana Colovic
email: ana.colovic@neoma-bs.fr

Intangible resources and cross-border acquisition decisions: the impact of reputation and the moderating effect of experiential knowledge

Keywords: cross-border acquisitions, information asymmetry, signal, reputation, international experiential knowledge

Drawing from the resource-based view, signaling theory, and internationalization literatures, we argue that a key intangible resource -reputation -influences the decision to engage in cross-border acquisitions (CBAs). Reputation facilitates foreign entry by reducing the risks and costs inherent in such strategic moves, while acting to curb potentially risky decisions. Based on a longitudinal sample of 869 acquisitions conducted by European and US firms, our study confirms the inverted U-shaped relationship between a firm's reputation and the likelihood of undertaking CBAs. We also find that international experiential knowledge moderates the relationship between reputation and the likelihood of additional CBAs. Our research contributes to the growing literature on the influence of intangible strategic resources, especially that of reputation, on foreign entry strategies.

1

Introduction

The unprecedented level of cross-border acquisitions (hereafter CBAs) has led researchers from several academic fields to investigate the phenomenon, generating extensive knowledge of the antecedents, outcomes, and moderators of the acquisition-performance relationship [START_REF] Bauer | Antecedents of M&A success: The role of strategic complementarity, cultural fit, and degree and speed of integration[END_REF][START_REF] Haleblian | Taking stock of what we know about mergers and acquisitions: A review and research agenda[END_REF].

The international business (IB) literature is at the forefront of this trend as acquisitions are a favorite market entry mode for multinational enterprises (MNEs) [START_REF] Xie | Country-specific determinants of cross-border mergers and acquisitions: A comprehensive review and future research directions[END_REF]. CBAs enable MNEs to circumvent major market entry barriers, save time in establishing their presence in foreign markets [START_REF] Slangen | Do multinationals really prefer to enter culturally distant countries through greenfields rather than through acquisitions? The role of parent experience and subsidiary autonomy[END_REF], and benefit from location advantages while avoiding the risks associated with greenfield investments [START_REF] Dunning | Location and the multinational enterprise: John Dunning's thoughts on receiving the Journal of International Business Studies 2008 Decade Award[END_REF].

However, CBAs entail greater risk and uncertainty than domestic acquisitions due to the information asymmetry that acquirers face in foreign countries [START_REF] Malhotra | Spatial geography and control in foreign acquisitions[END_REF][START_REF] Mukherjee | Business group reputation and affiliates' internationalization strategies[END_REF][START_REF] Reuer | Signals and international alliance formation: The roles of affiliations and international activities[END_REF]Stevens and Makarius, 2015), especially if the "acquisition entails added cultural distance for the acquirer" (Kim, Gaur, and Mukherjee, 2020, p. 501). Such asymmetry leads to a greater risk of adverse selection and moral hazard, which in turn increases transaction costs [START_REF] Scalera | Ownership strategies in knowledgeintensive cross-border acquisitions: Comparing Chinese and Indian MNEs[END_REF][START_REF] Stevens | It takes two to tango: Signaling behavioral intent in service multinationals' foreign entry strategies[END_REF]. Despite the significant amount of CBA research, recent studies have investigated mostly how CBAs influence acquirer performance [START_REF] Bertrand | Effects of foreign acquisitions on R&D activity: Evidence from firmlevel data for France[END_REF][START_REF] Bertrand | Productivity enhancement at home via cross-border acquisitions: The roles of learning and contemporaneous domestic investments[END_REF][START_REF] Cheng | Enhancing performance of cross-border mergers and acquisitions in developed markets: The role of business ties and technological innovation capability[END_REF], in addition to the impact of host country characteristics on CBA decisions [START_REF] Arslan | FDI entry strategies and the impacts of economic freedom distance: Evidence from Nordic FDIs in transitional periphery of CIS and SEE[END_REF][START_REF] Xie | Country-specific determinants of cross-border mergers and acquisitions: A comprehensive review and future research directions[END_REF]. Surprisingly, research has focused less on how firms can overcome the obstacles generated by information asymmetry. In their recent pioneering work, Stevens and Makarius (2015) argue that such obstacles can be surmounted by a "firm's advantage effect) by reducing information asymmetry [START_REF] Bergh | Signalling theory and equilibrium in strategic management research: An assessment and a research agenda[END_REF][START_REF] Mukherjee | Business group reputation and affiliates' internationalization strategies[END_REF]. However, after the threshold, it constitutes an obstacle, as high-reputation firms tend to avoid risky decisions [START_REF] Parker | How firm reputation shapes managerial discretion[END_REF]) that might damage their reputation (reputation preservation effect). Second, we hypothesize that the knowledge generated through prior CBA experience moderates the reputation/CBA-decision relationship: CBA experience reinforces both reputational advantage and reputation preservation effects. Indeed, such experience provides managers with the knowledge and self-confidence they need to undertake further cross-border operations [START_REF] Haleblian | The influence of acquisition experience and performance on acquisition behavior: Evidence from the US commercial banking industry[END_REF], but it also makes them aware of the associated risks and the potential damage to their reputation in case of poor CBA outcomes.

We test our two hypotheses on a unique dataset of 869 acquisitions completed between 2010 and 2015 by European and US multinationals. We compiled the data manually from four distinct data sources: (i) information about M&A deals, (ii) acquirer reputation, (iii) acquirer and target financial and operational information, and (iv) the national investment profiles of both acquirers and targets. Our longitudinal data enabled us to consider MNEs' specific unobserved heterogeneity, a crucial issue for such studies.

We contribute to the literature in two ways. First, we add to the growing strategy literature examining how intangible assets shape strategic decisions, and answering recent calls for such studies [START_REF] Mukherjee | A reputation transfer perspective on the internationalization of emerging market firms[END_REF][START_REF] Pfarrer | A tale of two assets: The effects of firm reputation and celebrity on earnings surprises and investors' reactions[END_REF]Stevens and Makarius, 2015). We provide evidence that acquirer reputation influences subsequent CBA decisions, and that this relationship is moderated by international experiential knowledge, which constitutes a novel contribution to the literature. Moreover, our study provides a nuanced view of the influence of reputation on the propensity to undertake costly and risky cross-border operations. These insights complement the recent findings of [START_REF] Haleblian | High-reputation firms and their differential acquisition behaviors[END_REF] on the distinctive behavior of high-reputation firms and those of [START_REF] Parker | How firm reputation shapes managerial discretion[END_REF] relative to the burden and liabilities of a good reputation. Second, we contribute to the IB literature by identifying firm-level factors that influence entry mode decisions. The role of intangible assets has been central in the internationalization and entry mode literatures, as such assets enable firms to overcome the liability of foreignness (Wu andSalomon, 2016, 2017;[START_REF] Zaheer | Overcoming the liability of foreignness[END_REF] and information asymmetry [START_REF] Malhotra | Spatial geography and control in foreign acquisitions[END_REF][START_REF] Mukherjee | Business group reputation and affiliates' internationalization strategies[END_REF][START_REF] Reuer | Signals and international alliance formation: The roles of affiliations and international activities[END_REF]Stevens and Makarius, 2015). However, more research is needed to identify influential intangible resources and to reveal how they interact to affect MNE acquisition decisions. Our research highlights the influence of two key internal intangible resources -reputation and international experiential knowledge -on the internationalization decision.

Theoretical framework and hypotheses

Why do firms conduct cross-border M&As?

The motives behind cross-border M&As have been the subject of investigation in a number of disciplines, including finance, economics, strategy, and IB. As a result, a variety of possible explanations as to why firms engage in cross-border M&As have been put forward (Haleblebian et al., 2009;[START_REF] Lebedev | Mergers and acquisitions in and out of emerging economies[END_REF][START_REF] Meyer-Doyle | Disentangling the microfoundations of acquisition behavior and performance[END_REF]. Based on an extensive review of the M&A literature spanning different disciplines, Haleblebian et al. (2009) identify four main categories of M&A motives: (i) value creation, (ii) managerial self-interest (also regarded as value destruction), (iii) environmental factors, and (iv) firm characteristics. Building on [START_REF] Angwin | Motive archetypes in mergers and acquisitions (M&A): the implications of a configurational approach to performance[END_REF] categorization of acquirers' motives -financial, economic, and strategic -, [START_REF] Lim | The effects of industry relatedness and takeover motives on cross-border acquisition completion[END_REF] argue that because it is often difficult to differentiate between economic and strategic motives, studies should consider two main categories of motives, namely financial and strategic.

Looking into strategy and IB literatures, resources as a concept appear central to understanding M&A motives, and cross-border operations, in particular. Traditional IB theories such as the internalization theory [START_REF] Buckley | The future of the multinational enterprise[END_REF] and the OLI (Ownership, Location, and Internalization) paradigm [START_REF] Dunning | Toward an eclectic theory of international production: Some empirical tests[END_REF][START_REF] Dunning | The eclectic paradigm as an envelope for economic and business theories of MNE activity[END_REF] consider crossborder M&As from the perspective of exploiting acquirers' resources in foreign locations, that is, leveraging ownership-specific advantages to expand abroad. Based on this perspective, firms are pushed to internationalize via FDI by their firm-specific advantages, which stem from the tangible and intangible resources that they possess and can deploy in foreign markets. However, although this asset-exploitation perspective explains very convincingly why firms from developed countries conduct M&As, it has failed to explain why emerging market multinationals (EMNEs) conduct cross-border M&As, especially when they acquire firms located in developed countries [START_REF] Dikova | Investment motives, ownership advantages and institutional distance: An examination of Russian cross-border acquisitions[END_REF][START_REF] Gubbi | Do international acquisitions by emerging-economy firms create shareholder value? The case of Indian firms[END_REF]. This is because, arguably, EMNEs do not have ownership-specific advantages or particular resources (such as advanced technology or reputation) that they can leverage in developed markets. Thus, the stream of research studying the M&As of EMNEs has provided alternative explanations as to why these firms proceed with overseas acquisitions, which, contrary to asset-exploitation, focus on asset-seeking and asset-building. [START_REF] Makino | Asset-exploitation versus asset-seeking: Implications for location choice of foreign direct investment from newly industrialized economies[END_REF] thus argue that firms invest in foreign markets not only to exploit their assets (valuable resources), but also to develop and acquire strategic assets in host countries. Consequently, resource-seeking and strategic asset-seeking appear as important motives for FDI, including cross-border M&As. [START_REF] Gubbi | Resource deepening vs. resource extension: Impact on asset-seeking acquisition performance[END_REF] further deepen this idea by identifying two categories of assetseeking acquisitions: resource deepening (acquisitions of resources that are close to the firm's existing resource portfolio), and resource extension (acquiring resources that are more distant from the current resource portfolio of the firm).

In summary, two main types of strategic motives for cross-border M&As can be identified in the literature: asset (resource)-exploitation [START_REF] Buckley | The future of the multinational enterprise[END_REF]Dunning, 1988), and asset (resource)-seeking or resource-building [START_REF] Gubbi | Do international acquisitions by emerging-economy firms create shareholder value? The case of Indian firms[END_REF][START_REF] Gubbi | Resource deepening vs. resource extension: Impact on asset-seeking acquisition performance[END_REF]Dikova et al., 2016;[START_REF] Lebedev | Mergers and acquisitions in and out of emerging economies[END_REF][START_REF] Makino | Asset-exploitation versus asset-seeking: Implications for location choice of foreign direct investment from newly industrialized economies[END_REF][START_REF] Mathews | Dragon multinationals: New players in 21st century globalization[END_REF].

Although these perspectives contrast each other, they share the central notion of firm assets, or resources and competencies. This points to their decisive role in determining both a firm's ability to conduct M&As as well as its motivations in approaching foreign markets using the risky and often costly instrument of M&As. Figure 1 summarizes the main strategic motives for cross-border M&As.

[Insert Figure 1 Some multinationals made CBAs for both resource-exploitation and resource-seeking motives. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), a US food processing and commodities trading company, acquired WILD Flavors in Switzerland to seek out new resources and exploit existing ones: "With ADM's global origination, transportation, processing and distribution network as our foundation, we significantly increased our capabilities and our existing portfolio of specialty-ingredients businesses (…) through the acquisition of WILD Flavors, one of the world's leading suppliers of natural ingredients to the food and beverage industry. WILD's technical and product-development capabilities, along with its flavor and ingredient systems, enable ADM to offer our food customers a wide range of solutions that address taste, texture, nutrition and function" (CEO and President; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Annual Report Archer Daniels Midland, 2014, p. 3).

Extant literature and these illustrations emphasize the role of tangible and intangible resources as key factors influencing managers' decisions to expand internationally. However, the literature relating to intangible resources and internationalization decisions has thus far remained scarce, and has not produced much empirical evidence, in particular when it comes to the influence of intangible assets on international expansion through acquisitions. One reason for this is that intangible assets are difficult to observe and measure, as they are not included in company accounts [START_REF] Delgado-Gómez | Intangible resources as a key factor in the internationalisation of Spanish firms[END_REF]).

Our study focuses on two intangible resources identified by [START_REF] Hall | The strategic analysis of intangible resources[END_REF] as the main contributors to sustainable competitive advantage and that take time to develop, namely, reputation and knowledge.

Reputation and CBAs

According to the RBV, "the resource bundles […] are heterogeneous across firms" (Peteraf, 1993, p. 180), and this heterogeneity may explain why some firms are able to create superior value, while others are not. Resource heterogeneity results from the possession of both tangible and intangible resources. Tangible resources, like physical and human resources, are crucial factors in a firm's operations, but they need to be complemented by intangible resources in order to make firms competitive. This is because intangible resources are developed through socially complex processes, which makes them difficult to replicate [START_REF] Barney | Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage[END_REF]. Defined as "stakeholders' perceptions of an organization's ability to create value relative to competitors" (Rindova, Williamson, Petkova, andSever, 2005, p. 1033), reputation is a valuable intangible resource contributing to MNE performance [START_REF] Barney | Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage[END_REF][START_REF] Ravasi | The formation of organizational reputation[END_REF][START_REF] Rindova | Being good or being known: an empirical examination of the dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of organizational reputation[END_REF][START_REF] Rindova | Reputation as an intangible asset: Reflections on theory and methods in two empirical studies of business school reputations[END_REF]. The role of reputation is particularly important for decisions regarding international expansion and acquisitions, as cross-border operations increase information asymmetry and the risk of adverse selection and moral hazard [START_REF] Mukherjee | A reputation transfer perspective on the internationalization of emerging market firms[END_REF][START_REF] Reuer | Signals and international alliance formation: The roles of affiliations and international activities[END_REF]Stevens and Makarius, 2015;Stevens et al., 2015). According to signaling theory [START_REF] Spence | Job market signaling[END_REF][START_REF] Spence | Market signaling: Informational transfer in hiring and related screening processes[END_REF][START_REF] Spence | Signaling in retrospect and the informational structure of markets[END_REF], some information is private, i.e., not available to all actors, and information asymmetries arise between those who possess the information and those who could benefit from that information [START_REF] Connelly | Signaling theory: a review and assessment[END_REF].

In other words, information asymmetries arise when "different people know different things" (Stiglitz, 2002, p. 469).

CBAs are considered riskier than domestic acquisitions because they entail dealing with different cultures, institutions, and regulations, because differences between the home and host countries might lead to post-integration challenges [START_REF] Miller | Local density and foreign subsidiary performance[END_REF], and because acquirers might suffer from liability of foreignness [START_REF] Zaheer | Overcoming the liability of foreignness[END_REF]. Consequently, the opportunities and risks related to such operations are harder for investors to assess [START_REF] Moeller | Global diversification and bidder gains: A comparison between cross-border and domestic acquisitions[END_REF], especially in a context where acquisition returns are uncertain [START_REF] Brouthers | Acquisitions and real options: The greenfield alternative[END_REF]. In sum, as CBAs involve firms in different countries, regions, or continents, they generate far more uncertainty for decision-makers than domestic operations.

Based on this literature, we argue that reputation influences the decision to make CBAs through two opposing mechanisms: the reputational advantage effect and the reputation preservation effect. Indeed, reputation can help or hinder firms in different circumstances [START_REF] Petkova | Reputation and decision making under ambiguity: A study of U.S. venture capital firms' investments in the emerging clean energy sector[END_REF][START_REF] Saeidi | How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction[END_REF][START_REF] Zavyalova | Reputation as a benefit and a burden? How stakeholders' organizational identification affects the role of reputation following a negative event[END_REF]. As Petkova et al. (2014, p. 423) theorized, "reputation exerts dual pressures on a firm's decision." On the one hand, reputable firms aspire to enhance their performance, making them more likely to search for new opportunities or to take riskier strategic moves. In addition, as reputation is inferable from firms' past actions and performance [START_REF] Fombrun | What's in a name? Reputation building and corporate strategy[END_REF], a good reputation will increase managers' confidence in their own ability to create value from strategic actions. In an uncertain context, a good reputation can facilitate CBAs, as firms can leverage their reputational advantage to overcome the liability of foreignness and transaction costs inherent in foreign market entry. According to the signaling theory, reputation acts as a signal to reassure investors of the company's ability to respond to market expectations [START_REF] Hitt | Mergers & Acquisitions: A guide to creating value for stakeholders[END_REF] and to host country stakeholders of the firm's competence and trustworthiness [START_REF] Mukherjee | Business group reputation and affiliates' internationalization strategies[END_REF]Stevens and Makarius, 2015). This positive signal received by local stakeholders reduces transaction costs by facilitating interaction with local business partners and regulators, in turn facilitating access to local resources and integration in local networks [START_REF] Mukherjee | Business group reputation and affiliates' internationalization strategies[END_REF]. In other words, this key intangible resource acts as a signal to foster foreign market entry (Stevens and Makarius, 2015;[START_REF] Mukherjee | Business group reputation and affiliates' internationalization strategies[END_REF].

Recently, [START_REF] Dau | The grass is always greener: The impact of home and host country CSR reputation signaling on cross-country investments[END_REF] even evidenced the positive effect of a good reputation on international investments at country level.

On the other hand, reputable firms are more likely to make conservative decisions, and may therefore adopt risk reduction strategies to preserve their reputation. This is particularly true as reputable firms are closely scrutinized and subject to higher stakeholder expectations [START_REF] Haleblian | High-reputation firms and their differential acquisition behaviors[END_REF][START_REF] Parker | How firm reputation shapes managerial discretion[END_REF][START_REF] Petkova | Reputation and decision making under ambiguity: A study of U.S. venture capital firms' investments in the emerging clean energy sector[END_REF]. The uncertainty associated with CBAs could therefore encourage firms to adopt a reputation preservation strategy, that is, to limit their risk by settling for safer domestic acquisitions. Considering reputation one of their crucial assets, MNEs might be reluctant to use the high-risk instrument of CBAs so as not to jeopardize their reputation. In particular, when their reputation is very high, the potential gains from CBAs might not offset the associated risks, which could lead MNEs to refrain from adopting such a strategic move. Many empirical studies have investigated the performance outcomes of CBAs without reaching a consensus [START_REF] Hassan | Merger and acquisition motives and outcome assessment[END_REF], because, arguably, "M&A performance is an ambiguous construct" (Meglio and Risberg, 2011, p. 429). Most studies measure the value acquisitions create by the cumulative abnormal returns around the announcement of the deal [START_REF] Chalençon | Reputation, e-reputation, and value-creation of mergers and acquisitions[END_REF][START_REF] Tao | Do cross-border M&As increase short-term market performance? The case of Chinese firms[END_REF]. Interestingly, [START_REF] Haleblian | High-reputation firms and their differential acquisition behaviors[END_REF] show that stock markets react negatively to acquisitions, and that this reaction is stronger for highly reputed firms. The performance outcome of acquisitions, especially CBAs, is thus far from certain, which can lead well-reputed firms to avoid the risk altogether by preferring domestic acquisitions. Recently, Parker et al. (2019, p. 254) developed a theoretical framework identifying two forms of reputation: "those rooted in a firm's behaviors and those rooted in a firm's outcomes." The authors examine how reputation can affect the decisions of managers who want to meet stakeholder expectations. Stakeholders consider that the company will maintain its reputation based on its outcome or its behavior. Thus, when reputation is based on an outcome, managers feel constrained in their objectives whereas they feel constrained in their actions when reputation is rooted in their behavior [START_REF] Parker | How firm reputation shapes managerial discretion[END_REF].

Based on these insights, we argue that MNEs with a better reputation are more likely to make international acquisitions than domestic ones. Such a strategy enables them to exploit this strong asset abroad, and their reputation reduces the costs inherent in their foreign entry.

However, above a certain level of reputation, they will be reluctant to make foreign acquisitions, as such operations are riskier, and failure could disappoint their stakeholders, notably investors, and damage their reputation. Accordingly, we hypothesize:

H1. The relationship between firm reputation and CBA likelihood is curvilinear (inverse U-shaped), with CBAs taking place most likely when reputation is at an intermediate level.

The moderating effect of international experiential knowledge

Experiential knowledge, defined as the "learning acquired through the means of personal and professional experience of conducting IB in home and host countries" (Buckley, Munjal, Enderwick, and Forsans, 2016, p. 676), has been central to explaining the internationalization process and market entry mode choice [START_REF] Eriksson | Experiential knowledge and cost in the internationalization process[END_REF]. The Uppsala internationalization model points to a slow, gradual involvement in foreign markets as a result of the interaction between market knowledge and market commitment (Johanson andVahlne, 1977, 2009;[START_REF] Welch | Putting process (back) in: research on the internationalization process of the firm[END_REF]. Firms overcome perceived risks and costs of internationalization by gathering knowledge from their own operations or collaborating with other firms [START_REF] Buckley | The role of experiential and non-experiential knowledge in cross-border acquisitions: The case of Indian multinational enterprises[END_REF][START_REF] Lim | The effects of industry relatedness and takeover motives on cross-border acquisition completion[END_REF]. Experience and business relationships therefore provide firms with an intangible resource -knowledge -that will further enhance internationalization (He and Zhang, 2016). Knowledge generated by experience (experiential knowledge) thus becomes a driving force in the internationalization process [START_REF] Johanson | The mechanism of internationalisation[END_REF]) and constitutes a specific and implicit asset for the internationalizing firm [START_REF] Johanson | The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership[END_REF].

In the present study, we focus on specific knowledge acquired through CBA experience international experiential knowledge. Such knowledge increases the likelihood of subsequent acquisitions for several reasons. Drawing on organizational learning theory [START_REF] Argyris | Double loop learning in organisations[END_REF][START_REF] Argyris | Organisational learning: A theory of action perspective[END_REF], research has shown that knowledge and skills acquired from prior acquisitions, especially CBAs, can help a firm to make additional CBAs [START_REF] Haleblian | The influence of acquisition experience and performance on acquisition behavior: Evidence from the US commercial banking industry[END_REF]. Experience and learning can lead a firm to repeat similar actions in a process of "repetitive momentum" [START_REF] Collins | Learning by doing: Cross-border mergers and acquisitions[END_REF]Lester, 2009, p. 1330).

A firm can learn from experience and adjust its process for target selection, evaluation, acquisition, and integration [START_REF] Chao | Organizational learning and acquirer performance: How do serial acquirers learn from acquisition experience?[END_REF][START_REF] Galavotti | Experience and cross-border acquisitions: An organizational learning perspective[END_REF]. In addition, if the acquiring company has accumulated significant M&A experience, managers are more likely to launch M&A operations to satisfy their own interests [START_REF] Billett | Are overconfident CEOs born or made? Evidence of selfattribution bias from frequent acquirers[END_REF], even though successful past operations do not guarantee further success [START_REF] Meschi | Do firms forget about their past acquisitions? Evidence from French acquisitions in the United States (1988-2006)[END_REF]. When managers' confidence grows, thanks to accumulated experience in particular, they can carry out operations that would not otherwise have been undertaken due to the risks involved [START_REF] Drogendijk | Hofstede, Schwartz, or managerial perceptions? The effects of different cultural distance measures on establishment mode choices by multinational enterprises[END_REF]. Nevertheless, as [START_REF] Forsgren | The concept of learning in the Uppsala internationalization process model: a critical review[END_REF] argued, firms do not only learn from their own operations, but can accelerate the learning process by acquiring foreign units. This view echoes the learning perspective developed by [START_REF] Barkema | International expansion through start-up or acquisition: A learning perspective[END_REF], and [START_REF] Vermeulen | Learning through acquisitions[END_REF]. In addition, experience reduces the strong information asymmetry inherent in cross-border investments thanks to a better knowledge of markets and processes [START_REF] Malhotra | Spatial geography and control in foreign acquisitions[END_REF][START_REF] Scalera | Ownership strategies in knowledgeintensive cross-border acquisitions: Comparing Chinese and Indian MNEs[END_REF].

We suggest that experiential knowledge and reputation interact in informing a firm's behavior. Indeed, [START_REF] Haleblian | High-reputation firms and their differential acquisition behaviors[END_REF] show that firms behave differently depending on their reputation. We argue that CBA experience influences this behavior. In line with [START_REF] Scalera | Ownership strategies in knowledgeintensive cross-border acquisitions: Comparing Chinese and Indian MNEs[END_REF], we consider that firms with previous experience in the host country are more able to anticipate risks and difficulties and to counterbalance an unfavorable reputation by capitalizing on their experience.

Less reputed firms are less likely to succeed in international markets, and command weaker stakeholder trust [START_REF] Mukherjee | Business group reputation and affiliates' internationalization strategies[END_REF]. However, such firms are less closely scrutinized by stakeholders, and have less to lose in case of failure. They are also more likely to deploy risky strategies to demonstrate their ability to do so, and consequently to strengthen their reputational capital (see [START_REF] Alsop | Corporate reputation: anything but superficial-the deep but fragile nature of corporate reputation[END_REF][START_REF] Fombrun | Fame & fortune: How successful companies build winning reputations[END_REF][START_REF] Roberts | Corporate reputation and sustained superior financial performance[END_REF]. This is particularly true as "reputations are evaluative" [START_REF] Coombs | Protecting organization reputations during a crisis: The development and application of situational crisis communication theory[END_REF]: stakeholders compare firms between each other. A less reputed firm could increase its status by making international acquisitions. We argue that firms with a low reputation will decide whether to make CBAs based on their CBA experience. The combination of low reputation and the absence of foreign acquisition experience discourages firms from making CBAs. Indeed, expanding internationally without experience would be too risky, and would reduce their (already low) reputational capital further. Conversely, MNEs with CBA experience learn from their previous CBAs, and they are more able to undertake such operations and more aware of the difficulties associated with them [START_REF] Scalera | Ownership strategies in knowledgeintensive cross-border acquisitions: Comparing Chinese and Indian MNEs[END_REF]. In sum, lack of experience is liable to further reduce the likelihood of low-reputation firms undertaking CBAs, while previous CBAs would increase their likelihood of conducting additional acquisitions. In other words, we argue that the reputational advantage effect is stronger for experienced than for inexperienced firms.

Previous CBAs and knowledge of the risks associated with such operations will have different effects on high-reputation firms. Such firms have less to gain from additional CBAs. [START_REF] Parker | How firm reputation shapes managerial discretion[END_REF] argue that managers of companies with a strong reputation feel constrained in their actions and/or behavior. Moreover, in case of failure, they face significant risk of damage to their reputation. [START_REF] Haleblian | High-reputation firms and their differential acquisition behaviors[END_REF]Haleblian et al. ( , p. 2250) demonstrate that highreputation firms "generated more negative market reactions than other firms that made similar acquisitions." If the potential reputation loss is greater than the expected gains, then firms will refrain from undertaking such operations. Experienced firms are better able to evaluate the benefits of CBAs than inexperienced ones, but they are also more aware of the difficulties and risks of such operations [START_REF] Galavotti | Experience and cross-border acquisitions: An organizational learning perspective[END_REF]. We therefore argue that experience will decrease the probability of high-reputation firms making additional CBAs. The reputation preservation effect will thus be strengthened by CBA experience.

Consequently, we hypothesize: H2. Firms' international experiential knowledge moderates the relationship between reputation and the likelihood of subsequent CBAs, such that firms with an intermediate reputation are more likely to engage in CBAs when they are experienced than when they are inexperienced.

We present our research model in Figure 2. Table 1 presents the key articles that link reputation and international experience with CBAs.

[Insert Figure 2 here] [Insert Table 1 here]

Sample and methods

Sample

We constructed a unique firm-level dataset from various sources. We first collected the reputation information from each local branch of the Reputation Institute. Data were available for companies from 12 different countries for a 5-year period (2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015). We then used Zephyr to identify the acquisitions announced by these companies, and to collect information about the deals and the companies acquired. We extracted financial and operational data about the acquirer and the target from Datastream. Finally, we used the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG, PRS Group) to collect data on the investment profile for the countries of the acquirers and their targets. We removed operations in the banking and insurance industries from the sample, as their drivers are different from those in other industries. The final sample included 869 acquisitions completed between 2010 and 2015 by European and US multinationals. We determined the time and geographical span according to reputation data availability.

Using the same methodology, data were collected from the population (all acquisitions from Europe and the United States during the same period) to ensure that the sample was representative. As our sample focuses on large and listed acquirers, we selected deals where the acquirer is a listed firm with total assets of more than USD 200 million, the lowest value in our sample. In the whole population and our sample, the deals were made mainly by acquirers from the manufacturing sector (population: 50%; sample: 47%) and the service sector (28% and 35% respectively). They involved mainly targets belonging to the same sectors (manufacturing: 40% and 33% respectively; services: 36% and 48% respectively). The data on acquirer size is quite dispersed in both the population and the sample, with a similar mean of total assets (USD 50 billion). The mean deal value is USD 432 million for the population and USD 630 million for the sample, but this data is only available for 43% of deals (whole population and sample).

Dependent, independent, and control variables

The dependent variable is Cross-border acquisition, a dichotomous variable that takes the value 1 if the acquirer and the target are not located in the same country, and 0 otherwise. This variable presents the advantage of capturing the differences that may exist between domestic and cross-border acquisitions, as outlined above, addressing the lack of research comparing both types of transactions [START_REF] Galavotti | Experience and cross-border acquisitions: An organizational learning perspective[END_REF].

The independent variable, Reputation, is the acquiring firm's reputation. We used the RepTrack™ Pulse measure developed by [START_REF] Ponzi | RepTrak™ pulse: Conceptualizing and validating a short-form measure of corporate reputation[END_REF] and provided by the Reputation Institute, the world's leading reputation management consultancy. The score is based on an online survey of more than 60,000 people, representative of each country's population in terms of age and gender, aged between 18 and 64 years, and familiar with the firm. The aim of the survey is to determine the reputation score of each firm through four emotional perceptions that structure its relationship with the public: trust, respect, admiration, and proximity. The participants are asked about their perceptions of the firm in their local language on a 7-point Likert scale. The reputation score of each firm is then computed as the mean score for all respondents in the firm's home country. The final score was converted to a 0-100 scale and adjusted statistically to allow cross-industry and crosscountry comparisons. The score is only available for the largest listed MNEs in each country.

The index is increasingly used in academic research to measure reputation [START_REF] Deephouse | The effects of institutional development and national culture on cross-national differences in corporate reputation[END_REF][START_REF] Thams | Geographical diversification as a predictor of MNC reputations in their home nations[END_REF].

The moderating variable, International experiential knowledge, is the number of CBAs conducted by the acquirer over the 10 years prior to the deal in question. We collected the information on CBAs conducted by each acquirer from the Zephyr database. Our choice of a 10-year period can be justified from an organizational learning perspective [START_REF] Chao | Organizational learning and acquirer performance: How do serial acquirers learn from acquisition experience?[END_REF]. As a matter of fact, time "depreciates acquisition experience" (Meschi and Métais, 2013, p. 469) through a forgetting process. Restricting the international experience to a limited timeframe seems appropriate, given that the knowledge generated by older operations may have been forgotten.

We introduced a number of control variables related to the acquirer, the target, the deal, and the home countries of the acquirer and the target. First, we used a set of variables covering the acquirer's size and performance: Domestic experience, Total assets, Operating profit margin, and Foreign income. Second, we included the control variable Diversification to account for relatedness between the acquirer and the target [START_REF] Villalonga | The choice among acquisitions, alliances, and divestitures[END_REF]. Third, we included controls for the target firms: Target service firm and Target high tech firm, as previous studies have suggested that CBA decisions may be influenced by the target's sector [START_REF] Chari | Determinants of the share of equity sought in cross-border acquisitions[END_REF][START_REF] Cuypers | The effects of linguistic distance and lingua franca proficiency on the stake taken by acquirers in cross-border acquisitions[END_REF]. Finally, we included country-level variables to control for the institutional environment [START_REF] Lebedev | Mergers and acquisitions in and out of emerging economies[END_REF][START_REF] Li | Principal-principal conflicts under weak institutions: A study of corporate takeovers in China[END_REF][START_REF] Meyer | Institutions, resources, and entry strategies in emerging economies[END_REF]: Investment profile acquirer and Investment profile target. Indeed, the environment in which the signal (reputation) is transmitted matters [START_REF] Connelly | Signaling theory: a review and assessment[END_REF]: better investor rights protection, both at home and abroad, reduces the risk associated with CBAs and increases a firm's likelihood to invest abroad. The indicator assesses the risks associated with the investment, and includes three dimensions: contract viability/expropriation, profit repatriation, and payment delays. Each of these three components was scored from 0 to 4 (a score of 4 corresponds to a very low risk, while a score of 0 indicates a very high risk). The indicator therefore has a score ranging between 0 and 12.

We provide detailed definitions and sources of the variables in Table 2.

[Insert Table 2 here]

Estimation method

The estimated equation is the following:

logit Pr Y ijt = 1 I it , X it , , , Z ct = α + βI it +γX it + + +!Z ct +μ ijt , (1)
where # is the Cross-border acquisition of firm j by firm i in year t, β, γ, , and ! are row vectors of coefficients, $ represents the independent and moderating variables, % , and are vectors of firm-level control variables, & ' is a vector of control variables related to the (acquiring and target) firms' countries c, ( is the constant, and ) is the error term. As our dependent variable is dichotomous, and in order to fully exploit the longitudinal nature of our data, our baseline estimations use a conditional fixed-effect logit model. This method has the advantage of controlling for firm heterogeneity and omitted variable bias [START_REF] Holburn | Political capabilities, policy risk, and international investment strategy: Evidence from the global electric power generation industry[END_REF]. As for the reverse causality issue, it is unlikely that the dependent variable, the decision to acquire a specific firm, influences (i) a firm's reputation, which is the result of social perception over several years, or (ii) the firm's experience of CBAs over the last 10 years.

Nevertheless, to check the robustness of our results, we also ran a pooled cross-sectional logit regression model, which we estimated with the maximum likelihood method, clustering standard errors at the acquirer level. According to [START_REF] Greene | The behaviour of the maximum likelihood estimator of limited dependent variable models in the presence of fixed effects[END_REF], this type of method is appropriate for the kind of study we conducted.

Results

Table 3 presents descriptive statistics and the correlation matrix for all the variables.

The variance inflation factors (VIF) in our regression models are no higher than 3, indicating that multicollinearity is not a concern in our study.

[Insert Table 3 here] Table 4 presents the results of the fixed-effects logit regression models. McFadden's pseudo-R 2 range between 0.20 and 0.46. Model 1 presents the estimations with the control variables. Models 2 and 3 test Hypotheses 1 and 2 respectively. Model 4 tests Hypothesis 2 using an alternative measure of International experiential knowledge.

[Insert Table 4 here]

In Model 2, the positive estimated coefficient of Reputation (p<0.01) and the negative estimated coefficient of the quadratic term Reputation*Reputation (p<0.01) support the inverted U-shaped relationship between firm reputation and the likelihood of CBAs, as predicted by Hypothesis 1. To check whether the relation is curvilinear, we follow the threestep procedure suggested by [START_REF] Lind | With or without U? The appropriate test for a U-shaped relationship[END_REF]. [Insert Table 5 here]

To understand the effects of this independent variable in more detail and because we have a nonlinear model (logit), we employ a delta method using the coefficients presented in Model 2 to compute the likelihood of any average firm in the dataset making a CBA. The mean predicted probability of engaging in a CBA is 0.68 (p<0.01) if a firm's reputation is 63.01 (turning point) whereas it amounts to 0.35 (p<0.05) and 0.23 (p<0.05) if a firm's reputation is respectively 44 and 86. We graphically present these probabilities in Figure 3, which also confirms the inverse U-shaped relationship.

[Insert Figure 3 and the likelihood of subsequent CBAs is greater for experienced than for inexperienced firms at an intermediate level of reputation. To compute and graphically present the predicted probabilities of CBAs, we ran the estimation using a dichotomous variable, International experiential knowledge. The variable takes the value 1 if the firm has some prior CBA experience, and 0 otherwise. We present the results in Table 4, column 4, and the predicted probabilities in Figure 4. The mean predicted probability of engaging in a CBA is 0.71 (p<0.001) at the turning point (63.01) for an experienced firm whereas it amounts to 0.16 (p<0.05) for an inexperienced firm. As shown by the negative and significant estimated coefficient of Reputation*Reputation*International experiential knowledge, the slope is becoming steeper for experienced firms and flatter for inexperienced firms [START_REF] Assaf | Revisiting shape and moderation effects in curvilinear models[END_REF], which is confirmed by the graphical representation [START_REF] Haans | Thinking about U: Theorizing and testing U-and inverted U-shaped relationships in strategy research[END_REF]. Interestingly, the curve for inexperienced firms flattens to such an extent that it flips from an inverted to a normal U-shape. This shape-flip phenomenon [START_REF] Haans | Thinking about U: Theorizing and testing U-and inverted U-shaped relationships in strategy research[END_REF] further confirms the hypothesized moderation effect -the relationship between a firm's reputation and its decision to make CBAs depends on its CBA experience.

[Insert Figure 4 here]

We tested the robustness of our results using pooled cross-sectional logit regression models (Table 6). We included year fixed effects to control for temporal shocks. All results, including those that check the curvilinear relationship and the moderation effect, confirm our previous findings.

[Insert Table 6 here] 5. Discussion and conclusions

Theoretical contributions

The literature shows that MNEs conduct CBAs to exploit existing resources and/or seek new ones, but few studies have investigated the role of intangible resources in such decisions.

The topic is nonetheless important, as these decisions occur in a context of uncertainty and information asymmetry. Our research is the first to assess the influence of reputation, a key intangible resource, on MNE decisions to enter foreign markets through CBAs. Our framework and findings offer several theoretical contributions.

First, we build on the recent literature on reputation [START_REF] Bergh | Signalling theory and equilibrium in strategic management research: An assessment and a research agenda[END_REF][START_REF] Mukherjee | Business group reputation and affiliates' internationalization strategies[END_REF][START_REF] Parker | How firm reputation shapes managerial discretion[END_REF][START_REF] Petkova | Reputation and decision making under ambiguity: A study of U.S. venture capital firms' investments in the emerging clean energy sector[END_REF]Stevens and Makarius, 2015) to argue that reputation has a dual effect on firm decisions. On the one hand, our results confirm that the acquirer's reputation is a determinant of CBAs as a specific, internationally exploitable asset [START_REF] Petkova | Reputation and decision making under ambiguity: A study of U.S. venture capital firms' investments in the emerging clean energy sector[END_REF][START_REF] Zavyalova | Reputation as a benefit and a burden? How stakeholders' organizational identification affects the role of reputation following a negative event[END_REF] and as a signal that mitigates information asymmetry (Stevens and Makarius, 2015). MNEs are less reluctant to make international acquisitions, even if they are risky, since their reputation gives them confidence in their ability to create value in an uncertain context (reputational advantage effect). Reputation counterbalances the liability of foreignness and signals to the market the firm's ability to seize new market opportunities [START_REF] Hitt | Mergers & Acquisitions: A guide to creating value for stakeholders[END_REF]. On the other hand, our results also show that a good reputation entails high expectations from local and foreign stakeholders that discourage firms from engaging in high-risk, uncertain CBAs (reputation preservation strategy). To preserve their hard-earned reputation, companies may prefer caution, especially when their stakeholders have high expectations [START_REF] Haleblian | High-reputation firms and their differential acquisition behaviors[END_REF][START_REF] Parker | How firm reputation shapes managerial discretion[END_REF][START_REF] Petkova | Reputation and decision making under ambiguity: A study of U.S. venture capital firms' investments in the emerging clean energy sector[END_REF]. CBAs are complex, and therefore risky. When CBAs fail, stakeholder disappointment can damage the firm's reputation. In this case, the reputational risk may outweigh the potential gains from CBAs. Our findings on the influence of reputation on CBAs are novel and align with the argument of [START_REF] Mukherjee | Business group reputation and affiliates' internationalization strategies[END_REF] that "reputation may serve as a catalyst, blank slate or hindrance" (p. 94) for international expansion.

Second, we demonstrate that international experiential knowledge, a central intangible resource in internationalization theories, plays a key role in the relationship between reputation and CBA decisions by reinforcing the above-mentioned effects. Experience and a good reputation enable firms to reduce the liability of foreignness and the risks associated with information asymmetry, thereby increasing the likelihood of undertaking CBAs. Our findings therefore confirm that intangible assets can help companies to overcome both the liability of foreignness (Wu andSalomon, 2016, 2017;[START_REF] Zaheer | Overcoming the liability of foreignness[END_REF] and information asymmetry [START_REF] Malhotra | Spatial geography and control in foreign acquisitions[END_REF][START_REF] Mukherjee | Business group reputation and affiliates' internationalization strategies[END_REF][START_REF] Reuer | Signals and international alliance formation: The roles of affiliations and international activities[END_REF]Stevens and Makarius, 2015). At the same time, experienced firms are more aware of the difficulties of such operations, and the risk such decisions involve for their reputation. Our results confirm that the impact of reputation on CBA decisions (reputational advantage and reputation preservation effects) is reinforced by the knowledge acquired during CBA experiences. International experiential knowledge combined with reputation helps companies overcome the liability of foreignness and the costs of foreign market entry. In other words, experienced firms are better able to leverage their reputation to expand internationally through CBAs. Conversely, the relationship between reputation and CBA likelihood is significantly weaker for inexperienced firms. Such firms are less able to assess the risks and costs associated with CBAs [START_REF] Galavotti | Experience and cross-border acquisitions: An organizational learning perspective[END_REF] or to translate their reputation into an advantage for such strategic moves. A lack of international experiential knowledge combined with an intermediate level of reputation results in a very low likelihood of CBAs. In such a situation, the reputation preservation effect dominates, and firms tend to refrain from high-risk strategies. Our finding that international experiential knowledge interacts with another intangible resource is intriguing and may explain the contrasting results of previous studies on the influence of international experience [START_REF] Galavotti | Experience and cross-border acquisitions: An organizational learning perspective[END_REF][START_REF] Malhotra | Spatial geography and control in foreign acquisitions[END_REF].

In sum, we propose a model and latent mechanisms to explain the influence of two key intangible assets on strategic decisions regarding international expansion, thus contributing to several literature streams. First, we fill a gap in the strategy literature [START_REF] Pfarrer | A tale of two assets: The effects of firm reputation and celebrity on earnings surprises and investors' reactions[END_REF] by providing useful insights into the importance of intangible resources and their impact on strategic decisions. Second, we extend the IB literature on the determinants of internationalization and market entry modes, and on the specific role of intangible resources.

The IB literature has widely acknowledged the key role of intangible assets in reducing the risk of foreign market entry, but has neglected the role of reputation [START_REF] Mukherjee | A reputation transfer perspective on the internationalization of emerging market firms[END_REF]Stevens and Makarius, 2015). Our research fills this gap and adds to the emerging literature on the role of reputation in entry mode decisions and CBA activities. Finally, our research complements the growing literature on the influence of reputation on firm decisions (Stevens and Makarius, 2015;[START_REF] Parker | How firm reputation shapes managerial discretion[END_REF]. In particular, we support the nuanced view of reputation advanced in the literature.

Managerial implications

Our research offers useful implications for companies that wish to expand their business internationally, providing them with a better understanding of the way corporate reputation shapes their strategies, especially those regarding foreign market entry. First, it suggests that reputation is both an efficient resource and signal that MNEs can use to overcome the risks and costs of operating in an uncertain environment. Managers can leverage reputation to develop internationally but also to convince stakeholders about the appropriateness of their strategy. As Stevens and Makarius (2015, p. 267) correctly pointed out, "reputation may serve as a 'lubricant' that reduces the friction" generated by the entry into a foreign market. Beyond the simple decision to expand internationally, reputation may also affect the location choice (Stevens and Makarius, 2015) or the market entry mode [START_REF] Mukherjee | A reputation transfer perspective on the internationalization of emerging market firms[END_REF] of such a strategic move. Reputation could incite (reputational advantage effect) as well as hinder (reputation preservation effect) managers in undertaking CBAs in risky environments or markets, their choice being guided by the tradeoff between their firm's level of reputation and the risk associated with the planned strategy.

Second, in providing a nuanced view of the role of reputation and its combined effect with experiential knowledge, we also improve awareness about the heterogeneity of a firm's resources [START_REF] Peteraf | The cornerstones of competitive advantage: a resource-based view[END_REF] and the antecedents of managerial decisions, something that is necessary for making informed decisions. Indeed, our results are consistent with the recent theoretical propositions of [START_REF] Parker | How firm reputation shapes managerial discretion[END_REF], who suggest that managers' perceptions of their latitude of actions (managerial discretion) are affected by the firm's reputation. For example, managers may be reluctant to conduct a CBA because they feel that it might damage their firm's reputation, especially if they have little experience of such strategic moves.

Awareness of the relationship between reputation and latitude of action may inform managers' decision-making and help them overcome their initial reluctance. As argued by Parker et al. (2019, p. 256) "to the extent managers can better understand the forces governing their actions, they might better position their firms in the market and achieve a more optimal degree of strategic fit." In sum, our study should encourage managers to value reputation and intangible assets more generally, taking into consideration the impact they may have on decision-making processes.

Limitations and research avenues

The limitations of our research, as well as the novelty of the topic, open up new opportunities for future research. First, we focus on the role of the acquiring firm's intangible assets, and it would be interesting to investigate how the target's reputation influences CBA decisions. [START_REF] Saxton | Target reputation and appropriability: Picking and deploying resources in acquisitions[END_REF] show that target reputation and acquisition benefits are positively related, but the literature has not investigated to what extent CBA decisions are driven by (intangible) resource-picking strategies. This is all the more important in so far as information asymmetry is reciprocal -both the acquirer and the target may act opportunistically (Stevens and Makarius, 2015). Second, our models provide an explanation for the decision to enter foreign markets. However, reputation may also have an influence on CBA performance, as our argument is that reputation helps to overcome the liability of foreignness and information asymmetry. As such, it favors integration into local networks and access to local resources, as well as guaranteeing better treatment by local authorities. Future research could therefore investigate how reputation may confer a sustainable competitive advantage. Third, a useful avenue for further study would be to examine the differential CBA behavior from emerging market MNEs, as such firms may lack international experience and reputation that they could leverage in developed markets. [START_REF] Mukherjee | A reputation transfer perspective on the internationalization of emerging market firms[END_REF] argue that reputation is important for the international expansion of emerging market firms: they propose a typology relating reputation resource types and motives to the choices of market entry mode by these firms. Interesting results could emerge from further researching this issue, both theoretically and empirically. A fourth research avenue could consider the different dimensions of reputation. Extant literature has differentiated several forms of reputation [START_REF] Parker | How firm reputation shapes managerial discretion[END_REF], emphasized one type of reputation (for example, reputation for trustworthiness, Stevens and Makarius, 2015) and introduced other constructs related to reputation (for example, reputation credibility and distance, Stevens et al., 2015). Additional research could adopt other measures of reputation, whether quantitative or qualitative, to further advance our knowledge of the impact of reputation on strategic decisions. Stevens et al. (2015) Role of reputation in the service multinationals' foreign entry strategies

Conceptual

Reputation for behavioral intent of service multinationals reduces transaction costs and impacts entry mode and partner selection. Stevens and Makarius (2015) Role of reputation in foreign entry strategy

Conceptual

Reputation for trustworthiness lowers transaction costs and acts as an important factor in foreign entry mode decisions. [START_REF] Haleblian | High-reputation firms and their differential acquisition behaviors[END_REF] Differential acquisition behaviors of high-reputation firms Empirical High-reputation firms make more acquisitions, more unrelated acquisitions, but investors respond negatively to the mean acquisition announcement of highreputation-firms. [START_REF] Mukherjee | Business group reputation and affiliates' internationalization strategies[END_REF] Role of Business Groups reputation in their affiliates' internationalization

Conceptual

Business Groups vary in their reputation prominence and quality, and this impacts the geographic scope and location choices of their affiliates.

Mukherjee et al. (2021) Role of emerging market firm reputation in internationalization strategies

Conceptual

Reputational resources play an important role in emerging market firm location choices and entry mode strategies. The authors provide a typology linking reputation resource types, reputation motives, and internationalization strategies. [START_REF] Collins | Learning by doing: Cross-border mergers and acquisitions[END_REF] Role of acquisition experience in subsequent CBAs

International experience and CBAs

Empirical

Prior experience with domestic and international acquisitions is positively related to subsequent CBAs. Acquisition experience within a host country has a stronger influence on the likelihood of acquisitions in the same country. [START_REF] Galavotti | Experience and cross-border acquisitions: An organizational learning perspective[END_REF] Role of prior acquisition experience in subsequent CBAs

Empirical

The relationship between domestic acquisition experience and the likelihood of subsequent CBAs is U-shaped whereas there is an inverted U-shape relationship between prior CBA experience and the likelihood of subsequent CBAs. [START_REF] Chao | Organizational learning and acquirer performance: How do serial acquirers learn from acquisition experience?[END_REF] Influence of the quality, the pattern, and the context of acquisition experience on acquirer performance

Empirical

The velocity of acquisition experience during the 10 years preceding the focal year significantly impacts acquirer's performance. of growth. Similarly, the sales and regional strongholds of International Rectifier complement Infineon's -a factor that will also help maintain the pace of growth" (Annual Report Infineon Technologies, 2014, p. 27). Archer Daniels Midland (United States) Reputation index: 61.96 Number of CBAs: 7 WILD Flavors (Switzerland) "Ingredients are a higher-margin, higher growth type of business. (…) The commodity business has its ups and downs" (CEO Archer Daniels Midland, The Wall Street Journal, 08/07/2014). "With ADM's global origination, transportation, processing and distribution network as our foundation, we significantly increased our capabilities and our existing portfolio of specialtyingredients businesses (…) through the acquisition of WILD Flavors, one of the world's leading suppliers of natural ingredients to the food and beverage industry. WILD's technical and product-development capabilities, along with its flavor and ingredient systems, enable ADM to offer our food customers a wide range of solutions that address taste, texture, nutrition and function" (CEO and President; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Annual Report Archer Daniels Midland, 2014, p. 3). "Chronic respiratory disease affects hundreds of millions of people around the world. (…) By combining our innovative portfolios and leveraging AstraZeneca's global scientific and commercial capabilities, we will strengthen our ability to address the entire spectrum of care" (CEO AstraZeneca, The New York Times, 30/07/2014). "We strengthened our own capabilities by acquiring the rights to Almirall's respiratory business, and inhalation device subsidiary, which will help us develop the next generation of devices that meet patient needs" (CEO, Annual Report AstraZeneca, 2014, p. 9).

Resource-exploitation

Resource-exploitation Resource-seeking

Reputation index: RepTrack TM index, year prior to the acquisition. Number of CBAs: Number of CBAs conducted by the acquirer over the 10 years before the deal analyzed. Note: The 12 selected CBAs represent the most important deals in value completed by European and US multinationals between 2010 and 2015. Information on underlying motives was extracted from the economic press (based on information available on Factiva 7 days before and after the CBA announcement) and the acquirers' annual reports.

  here] Examples of major CBAs conducted by European and US multinationals, and their underlying motives are provided in Appendix 1. The selected examples show that CBAs can be driven by resource-exploitation and/or resource-seeking motives. Several multinationals are engaged in CBAs to exploit their resources in foreign markets, leveraging their ownership-specific advantages built on tangible and intangible resources. For example, Novartis, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, acquired GlaxoSmithKline's oncology product unit in the United Kingdom to exploit ownership-specific advantages on a global scale: "We need to have market-leading businesses with global scale that can compete in a tough pricing environment" (CEO Novartis, Financial Times, 23/04/2010); "the planned acquisition of GlaxoSmithKline's oncology products is expected to reinforce our already strong position in cancer treatments" (Annual Report Novartis, 2014, p. 30). Other multinationals conducted CBAs to seek new tangible and intangible resources. For example, Solvay, a Belgian chemical company, acquired Rhodia in France to access new resources and become a global market leader: "We see the possibility of doubling our [earnings] to almost €2 billion and creating a major global chemicals platform under the banner of Solvay" (CEO Solvay, The Wall Street Journal, 05/04/2011); "what emerges is an even more powerful Solvay, with the critical mass and strategic assets to approach with confidence the troubled times ahead in the global economy (Chairman of the Executive Committee; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Annual Report Solvay, 2011, p. 4).

  here] Model 3 tests Hypothesis 2, according to which International experiential knowledge moderates the relationship between Reputation and Cross-border acquisition. The positive estimated coefficient of Reputation*International experiential knowledge (p<0.01) and the negative estimated coefficient of the quadratic term Reputation*Reputation*International experiential knowledge (p<0.01) support Hypothesis 2. The relationship between reputation

  country-related experience reduces the information asymmetry faced by Chinese and Indian MNEs and increases their share of equity in CBAs.Articles are listed in the chronological order.

Figure 3

 3 Figure 3 Predicted CBA probabilities

  Table 5 presents the results of the tests. First, the estimated coefficients of Reputation and Reputation*Reputation have the expected sign and are significant. Second, the slopes at both lower bound (0.23, p<0.01) and

	upper bound (-0.18, p<0.01) of the data range are sufficiently steep and with different
	directions. Third, the turning point (63.01) is well within the 32-87 data range. As shown by
	Table 5, the overall inverted U-shape tests in all the specifications are statistically significant
	(p<0.01).

Table 1

 1 Review of representative articles linking reputation, international experience and CBAs

	Figure 1 Main strategic motives for cross-border M&As
	Resource-exploitation (leveraging ownership-specific advantages)	Firm resources	Resource-seeking (building ownership-specific advantages)
	Source: Authors' elaboration based on the literature.

Table 2

 2 Variables, measurement and sources

	Variable	Measurement	Source
	Cross-border	Dummy variable: 1 if the acquirer and the target are	Authors' construction based
	acquisition	not located in the same country.	on Zephyr
	Reputation	RepTrackTM index, developed by Burson-Marsteller	Local branches of the
		and the Reputation Institute, based on a survey of	Reputation Institute
		more than 2000 individuals.
	International	Number of CBAs conducted by the acquirer over the	Authors' calculation based on
	experiential	10 years before the deal analyzed.	Zephyr
	knowledge
	Domestic	Number of domestic acquisitions conducted by the	Authors' calculation based on
	experience	acquirer over the 10 years before the deal analyzed.	Zephyr
	Total assets	Total assets of the acquirer (USD), in natural	Datastream
		logarithm.
	Operating profit	Operating profit/total revenue of the acquirer.	Datastream
	margin
	Foreign income	Share of foreign income over total income of the	Datastream
		acquirer
	Diversification	Dummy variable, equal to 1 if the acquirer's standard	Authors' construction based
		industrial classification (SIC) code (2 digits) is	on Zephyr
		different from that of the target company, 0
		otherwise.
	Target service firm	Dummy variable, equal to 1 if the target is a service	Authors' construction based
		firm, 0 otherwise.	on Chari and Chang (2009).
	Target high tech	Dummy variable, equal to 1 if the target is a high	Authors' construction based
	firm	tech firm, 0 otherwise.	on the definition by the United
			States Bureau of Labor
			Statistics and provided by
			Hecker (2005).
	Investment profile	Investment profile of the acquirer's country:	ICRG (International Country
	acquirer	assessment of three factors affecting the risk to	Risk Guide)
		investment (contract viability, profits repatriation and
		payment delays). A high score represents a low risk.
	Investment profile	Investment profile of the target's country: assessment	ICRG (International Country
	target	of three factors affecting the risk to investment	Risk Guide)
		(contract viability, profits repatriation and payment
		delays). A high score represents a low risk.

Table 3

 3 Descriptive statistics and correlation matrix

	Variable	Mean S. d.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	9	10	11	12
	1. Cross-border acquisition	0.61	0.49
	2. Reputation	68.01 7.36 -0.09*
	3. International experiential knowledge 16.52 18.65 0.34* -0.04
	4. Domestic experience	11.88 17.01 -0.24* -0.07* -0.02
	5. Total assets	17.05 1.30 -0.13* 0.23* -0.02	0.16*
	6. Operating profit margin	15.64 8.55 -0.10* 0.11*	0.01	0.20	0.30*
	7. Foreign income	11.43 97.53 0.15* -0.14* 0.11* -0.07* -0.05 0.14*
	8. Diversification	0.57	0.50	-0.05 -0.08* 0.15*	0.03 -0.09* -0.06 0.10*
	9. Target service firm	0.63	0.48 -0.20* -0.23* 0.13* 0.30* -0.07* 0.07* -0.07* 0.21*
	10. Target high tech firm	0.46	0.50 -0.11* -0.05	0.01	0.35* 0.20* 0.28* -0.13* 0.06 0.30*
	11. Investment profile acquirer	10.40 1.58 -0.24* 0.12* -0.15* 0.16* 0.28* 0.25* -0.19* -0.06 0.04 0.24*
	12. Investment profile target	10.40 1.81 -0.21* 0.14* -0.09	0.10* 0.17* 0.22 -0.09* -0.08 0.13* 0.30* 0.33*
	Notes: * denotes statistical significance at p < 0.05.

Table 4

 4 Fixed-effects logit regression models Model 3: test of Hypothesis 2 with International experiential knowledge level Model 4: test of Hypothesis 2 with International experiential knowledge as a dichotomous variable

			Dependent variable: cross-border acquisition
		(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
	Domestic experience	-0.024***	-0.023***	-0.044***	-1.343***
		(0.008)	(0.008)	(0.010)	(0.469)
	Total assets	-0.086	-0.012	-0.126	-0.099
		(0.096)	(0.100)	(0.113)	(0.106)
	Operating profit margin	0.019	0.022	0.012	0.032**
		(0.014)	(0.015)	(0.016)	(0.015)
	Foreign income	0.001	0.001	-0.005	-0.001
		(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.004)	(0.003)
	Diversification	0.286	0.323	0.183	0.178
		(0.226)	(0.229)	(0.287)	(0.238)
	Target service firm	-0.985***	-1.216***	-1.463***	-1.364***
		(0.255)	(0.272)	(0.342)	(0.282)
	Target high tech firm	0.649***	0.590***	0.928***	0.219
		(0.233)	(0.239)	(0.292)	(0.239)
	Investment profile acquirer	-0.456***	-0.448***	-0.378***	-0.551***
		(0.084)	(0.086)	(0.112)	(0.092)
	Investment profile target	-0.160**	-0.161**	-0.239**	-0.090
		(0.067)	(0.068)	(0.093)	(0.072)
	Reputation		0.464***	-0.902***	-0.991
			(0.152)	(0.330)	(0.671)
	Reputation*Reputation		-0.004***	0.006***	0.007
			(0.001)	(0.002)	(0.005)
	International experiential knowledge			-4.365***	-48.765**
				(0.995)	(22.834)
	Reputation*International experiential			0.133***	1.559**
	knowledge
				(0.030)	(0.693)
	Reputation*Reputation*International			-0.001***	-0.012**
	experiential knowledge
				(0.000)	(0.005)
	Observations	622	622	622	622
	Mc Fadden's Pseudo-R2	0.202***	0.226***	0.457***	0.275***
	Log likelihood	-193.776	-188.003	-131.830	-176.194
	LR X2	98.302	109.846	222.194	133.465
	* p<0.10, ** p<0.05, *** p<0.01. Standard errors between parentheses.
	Model 1: controls only
	Model 2: test of Hypothesis 1

Table 5

 5 Tests of an inversely U-shaped relationship between reputation and CBA[START_REF] Lind | With or without U? The appropriate test for a U-shaped relationship[END_REF] tests based on the general framework developed by[START_REF] Sasabuchi | A test of a multivariate normal mean with composite hypotheses determined by linear inequalities[END_REF].

	Estimated extreme point	63.01
	95% confidence interval (Fieller method)	(56.22, 66.87)
	Slope at lower bound	0.228
	t-value	2.914
	P>|t|	0.001
	Slope at upper bound	-0.175
	t-value	-3.412
	P>|t|	0.000
	Overall test
	t-value	2.91
	P>|t|	0.002
	Note:

Table 6

 6 Pooled cross-sectional logit regression models Model 3: test of Hypothesis 2 with International experiential knowledge level Model 4: test of Hypothesis 2 with International experiential knowledge as a dichotomous variable

			Dependent variable: cross-border acquisition
		(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
	Domestic experience	-0.015**	-0.015**	-0.021***	-0.814***
		(0.007)	(0.007)	(0.005)	(0.296)
	Total assets	0.027	0.019	-0.096	-0.010
		(0.075)	(0.075)	(0.077)	(0.081)
	Operating profit margin	0.002	0.001	-0.001	-0.000
		(0.012)	(0.013)	(0.011)	(0.013)
	Foreign income	0.002	0.002	0.001	0.002
		(0.002)	(0.003)	(0.001)	(0.002)
	Diversification	-0.134	-0.122	-0.093	-0.132
		(0.226)	(0.226)	(0.192)	(0.221)
	Target service firm	-0.402**	-0.496**	-0.712***	-0.526**
		(0.200)	(0.204)	(0.201)	(0.211)
	Target high tech firm	0.259	0.239	0.377	-0.033
		(0.216)	(0.227)	(0.238)	(0.211)
	Investment profile acquirer	-0.148*	-0.151*	-0.060	-0.164**
		(0.084)	(0.081)	(0.076)	(0.083)
	Investment profile target	-0.149***	-0.152***	-0.190***	-0.121**
		(0.057)	(0.057)	(0.066)	(0.059)
	Reputation		0.302**	-0.363*	-0.687*
			(0.129)	(0.200)	(0.405)
	Reputation*Reputation		-0.002**	0.002*	0.005*
			(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.003)
	International experiential knowledge			-2.339***	-32.272**
				(0.597)	(14.038)
	Reputation*International experiential			0.071***	1.049**
	knowledge
				(0.018)	(0.418)
	Reputation*Reputation*International			-0.001***	-0.008***
	experiential knowledge
				(0.000)	(0.003)
	Constant	4.382**	-5.633	17.602**	25.972*
		(1.493)	(4.509)	(7.201)	(13.386)
	Year dummies	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Observations	869	869	869	869
	Mc Fadden's Pseudo-R2	0.144***	0.165***	0.330***	0.196***
	Log likelihood	-496.288	-484.301	-388.392	-465.980
	LR X2	39.375	46.006	97.650	61.118
	* p<0.10, ** p<0.05, *** p<0.01. Standard errors clustered at the acquirer level between parentheses.
	Model 1: controls only
	Model 2: test of Hypothesis 1

GlaxoSmithKline's oncology products unit (United Kingdom) "An ageing population will lead to additional healthcare spending, but governments around the world are going to have difficulty funding these needs. So we need to have market-leading businesses with global scale that can compete in a tough pricing environment" (CEO Novartis, Financial Times, 23/04/2010). "The planned acquisition of GlaxoSmithKline's oncology products is expected to reinforce our already strong position in cancer treatments" (Annual Report Novartis, 2014, p. 30