Cost Stickiness and Merger Performance: A Managerial Characteristics Perspective

Drawing on a sample of merger and acquisition events involving non-financial A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2009 to 2023, this study explores the impact of cost stickiness on merger performance through the lens of managerial characteristics. The findings reveal a significant negative correlation between cost stickiness and post-merger performance. Moreover, managerial traits—such as managerial overconfidence, the proportion of female executives, and the average age of the management team—exert moderating effects, manifested respectively as an aggravating influence, a U-shaped pattern, and an inverted U-shaped effect. Cost stickiness impairs merger outcomes primarily by increasing absorbed slack and diminishing the quality of accounting information. Further analysis suggests that industry competition intensity, ESG performance, internal controls, and ownership concentration can alleviate the adverse relationship. Conversely, this negative effect becomes more pronounced in the context of unrelated mergers, cross-border transactions, and non-cash payment arrangements.