In this article, we empirically investigate the industry determinants of value creation through Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and the division of M&A gains for a sample of horizontal acquisitions in Europe during the period 1997–2008. We calculate the combined abnormal return around deal announcement to proxy for M&A value creation. Our results show that industry sales concentration and the ratio of the combined target and bidder size relative to the minimum efficient scale in the corresponding industry are significantly negatively associated with M&A value creation. The relation between industry sales growth and M&A gains is U-shaped. The extent of foreign competition within the industry, industry technological intensity and industry deregulation bear no significant association with M&A wealth effects, however. Finally, the data reveal that the division of M&A gains between target and bidder investors is determined by firm and deal characteristics rather than by industry conditions.

The authors propose a symbolic–instrumental interactive framework of consumer–brand identification (CBI) and explore its predictiveness across 15 countries. Using multinational data, they show that the negative impact of the misalignment between self–brand congruity and perceived quality on CBI is universal. The interaction among CBI, perceived quality, and uncertainty avoidance orientation in motivating consumers’ identity-sustaining behavior is weak. However, the synergy between CBI and perceived quality in motivating consumers’ identity-promoting behavior is stronger among collectivist consumers. The authors derive a typology of symbolic–instrumental misalignments to help international marketing managers motivate consumers to identify with and promote brands.