The role of executives’ social capital in improving merger and acquisition performance during corporate transformation and upgrading: Evidence from Chinese media enterprises

During the transformation and upgrading of enterprises, executives' social capital provides useful access to resources through merger and acquisition (M&A) strategies. This study examines 145 M&A events of Chinese listed media enterprises undergoing transformation and upgrading as research samples. It empirically analyzed the impact of executives' social capital on short-term and long-term M&A performance from three aspects: corporate social capital (CSC), political social capital (PSC), and financial social capital (FSC). It also confirmed the moderating effect of corporate ownership structure, exploring the mechanism of executives' social capital during the period of transformation and upgrading. Based on the empirical results, we found that: (1) CSC significantly enhances short-term M&A performance but has no significant effect on long-term performance; (2) PSC positively influences both short-term and long-term M&A performance. State-owned media enterprises may gain relatively fewer benefits from PSC in the short term after M&A, but they can accrue more significant benefits in the long term post-M&A; (3) FSC does not affect short-term M&A performance but exerts a negative impact on long-term performance. The negative effect is even more pronounced in state-owned enterprises. This study complements existing research on executives' social capital during the transformation and upgrading of enterprises. It provides a reference for media enterprises in China and other emerging economies to utilize executives' social capital.