"A Research Agenda on Startup Acquisitions"

Many entrepreneurs found technology startups to develop original ideas, with an eye toward IPO or buyout as a successful exit. However, policymakers are increasingly concerned that incumbent acquisitions of small or young firms may slow down rather than speed up innovation. This talk will cover some research progress that Professor Ginger Jin has made in this area, including (1) a comparison of top acquirers in the tech space, (2) a summary of how publicly traded firms in Northern America are involved in tech M&As, (3) the extent to which US antitrust agencies are lagged behind in terms of information infrastructure as compared to the development of the digital economy, and (4) a new, data-driven method to classify patent data into tech-business zones on a probabilistic basis and how this method could help merger reviews and other lines of research.