Linking the mobile telecom subscriber base to strategic motives of mergers and acquisitions: A critical reviewof literature in emerging economies of Africa and Asia

Mergers and Acquisition (M&As) have attracted a wider debate in the mobile telecommunication industry. Strategic motives for M&As have become inescapable drivers for M&As deals in the mobile telecom industry, arguably to target the potential subscribers to the mobile products and services. The subscriber base has been used as a performance indicator by the mobile industry in almost all countries of Africa and Asia. Unfortunately the findings on whether subscriber base is influenced by the strategic motives for M&As are scattered or fragmented in various journals of different academic disciplines. Yet, the number of mobile subscribers usually gives an indication of how vibrant the telecommunication sector of a country is. The objective of this article is to answer two main questions: (1) whether there is any linkage between the strategic motives for M&A and the subscriber base? (2) What are the implications of enhancing strategic motives for M&As in relation to the subscriber base in emerging economies of Africa and Asia? The study used in- depth synthesis and analysis of literature in forty-five articles purposively selected from scholarly journals for the period 2003-2018. Overall, the review indicated that the overwhelming majority of articles revealed a positive linkage between strategic motives for M&As and subscriber base of mobile telecommunications operators. The results suggest that strategic motives for M&As are not only a justification for M&As, but also are important strategy for managers, investors and practitioners to increase the subscriber base of mobile telecom operators.