Mergers and acquisitions research in finance and accounting: Past, present, and future

Abstract This study presents an analysis of publication patterns and major themes in research on mergers and acquisitions in finance and accounting. We find that takeovers as mechanisms of governance, drivers of mergers, mechanisms of mergers, bank mergers, cross‐border mergers, shareholder wealth effects of mergers and related events, and the role of financial experts and ownership structure form major themes of research in the finance area, while in accounting area major themes are corporate governance and accounting outcomes, predicting takeovers and their outcomes, valuation, financial reporting and takeover decisions, and financial reporting and performance.