{"id":{"repo_id":"tamu","oai_identifier":"oai:oaktrust.library.tamu.edu:1969.1/1598680"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/tamu/oai:oaktrust.library.tamu.edu:1969.1/1598680","repository":{"repo_id":"tamu","name":"Texas A&M University","base_url":"https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Try Before You Buy: Measuring Innovation Synergy Using Textual Analysis","abstract":"An increasing number of acquirers are adopting a “two-step merger” strategy by making corporate venture capital (CVC) investments in private firms prior to engaging in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). This dissertation investigates the strategic role of CVC using a three-stage framework and applies advanced textual analyses to examine how these investments reduce in-formation asymmetry and improve innovation outcomes. Drawing on real options theory (ROT), the analyses conceptualizes CVC investments as staged commitments that offer acquirers valuable flexibility under uncertainty. In the pre-CVC stage, I use textual analysis of patent documents to measure technological information asymmetry between acquirers and potential targets. I find that acquirers are more likely to initiate CVC investments in private firms that exhibit higher levels of technological opacity. In the post-CVC stage, I assess the potential for innovation synergy and show that investor-investee pairs with greater technological alignment are more likely to proceed to an M&A deal. In the post-merger stage, I evaluate realized innovation synergy at both the firm and inventor levels. At the firm level, acquirers that previously invested via CVC expand their technological scope. At the inventor level, textual analysis reveals that post-merger patents filed by target and acquirer inventors share more newly aligned keywords and exhibit closer thematic similarity, compared to withdrawn M&A pairs. Collectively, these findings demonstrate how CVC investments serve as a real option and an information-gathering mechanism and lay the foundation for innovation-driven synergies in subsequent M&A transactions.","abstract_html":"An increasing number of acquirers are adopting a “two-step merger” strategy by making corporate venture capital (CVC) investments in private firms prior to engaging in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). This dissertation investigates the strategic role of CVC using a three-stage framework and applies advanced textual analyses to examine how these investments reduce in-formation asymmetry and improve innovation outcomes. Drawing on real options theory (ROT), the analyses conceptualizes CVC investments as staged commitments that offer acquirers valuable flexibility under uncertainty. In the pre-CVC stage, I use textual analysis of patent documents to measure technological information asymmetry between acquirers and potential targets. I find that acquirers are more likely to initiate CVC investments in private firms that exhibit higher levels of technological opacity. In the post-CVC stage, I assess the potential for innovation synergy and show that investor-investee pairs with greater technological alignment are more likely to proceed to an M&A deal. In the post-merger stage, I evaluate realized innovation synergy at both the firm and inventor levels. At the firm level, acquirers that previously invested via CVC expand their technological scope. At the inventor level, textual analysis reveals that post-merger patents filed by target and acquirer inventors share more newly aligned keywords and exhibit closer thematic similarity, compared to withdrawn M&A pairs. Collectively, these findings demonstrate how CVC investments serve as a real option and an information-gathering mechanism and lay the foundation for innovation-driven synergies in subsequent M&A transactions.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Yi, Haneul 1987-"],"institution":"Texas A&M University","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Business Administration","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Liu, Xiaoding"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Rice, Sarah","Fitzgerald, Tristan"],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-08","date_published":"2025-08","updated_at":"2026-08-21T16:48:44Z","subjects":["Business Administration, General"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/1598680","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"source_record":{"url":"https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Aoaktrust.library.tamu.edu%3A1969.1%2F1598680","prefix":"dim"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Liu, Xiaoding"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Rice, Sarah","Fitzgerald, Tristan"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Yi, Haneul 1987-"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-02-04T22:25:40Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-08"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Business Administration"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Texas A&M University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Business Administration, General"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/1598680"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["An increasing number of acquirers are adopting a “two-step merger” strategy by making corporate venture capital (CVC) investments in private firms prior to engaging in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). This dissertation investigates the strategic role of CVC using a three-stage framework and applies advanced textual analyses to examine how these investments reduce in-formation asymmetry and improve innovation outcomes. Drawing on real options theory (ROT), the analyses conceptualizes CVC investments as staged commitments that offer acquirers valuable flexibility under uncertainty. In the pre-CVC stage, I use textual analysis of patent documents to measure technological information asymmetry between acquirers and potential targets. I find that acquirers are more likely to initiate CVC investments in private firms that exhibit higher levels of technological opacity. In the post-CVC stage, I assess the potential for innovation synergy and show that investor-investee pairs with greater technological alignment are more likely to proceed to an M&A deal. In the post-merger stage, I evaluate realized innovation synergy at both the firm and inventor levels. At the firm level, acquirers that previously invested via CVC expand their technological scope. At the inventor level, textual analysis reveals that post-merger patents filed by target and acquirer inventors share more newly aligned keywords and exhibit closer thematic similarity, compared to withdrawn M&A pairs. Collectively, these findings demonstrate how CVC investments serve as a real option and an information-gathering mechanism and lay the foundation for innovation-driven synergies in subsequent M&A transactions."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Try Before You Buy: Measuring Innovation Synergy Using Textual Analysis"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Liu, Xiaoding"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Rice, Sarah","Fitzgerald, Tristan"],"dc:creator":["Yi, Haneul 1987-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-02-04T22:25:40Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-08"],"dc:description.abstract":["An increasing number of acquirers are adopting a “two-step merger” strategy by making corporate venture capital (CVC) investments in private firms prior to engaging in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). This dissertation investigates the strategic role of CVC using a three-stage framework and applies advanced textual analyses to examine how these investments reduce in-formation asymmetry and improve innovation outcomes. Drawing on real options theory (ROT), the analyses conceptualizes CVC investments as staged commitments that offer acquirers valuable flexibility under uncertainty. In the pre-CVC stage, I use textual analysis of patent documents to measure technological information asymmetry between acquirers and potential targets. I find that acquirers are more likely to initiate CVC investments in private firms that exhibit higher levels of technological opacity. In the post-CVC stage, I assess the potential for innovation synergy and show that investor-investee pairs with greater technological alignment are more likely to proceed to an M&A deal. In the post-merger stage, I evaluate realized innovation synergy at both the firm and inventor levels. At the firm level, acquirers that previously invested via CVC expand their technological scope. At the inventor level, textual analysis reveals that post-merger patents filed by target and acquirer inventors share more newly aligned keywords and exhibit closer thematic similarity, compared to withdrawn M&A pairs. Collectively, these findings demonstrate how CVC investments serve as a real option and an information-gathering mechanism and lay the foundation for innovation-driven synergies in subsequent M&A transactions."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/1598680"],"dc:language.iso":["English"],"dc:subject":["Business Administration, General"],"dc:title":["Try Before You Buy: Measuring Innovation Synergy Using Textual Analysis"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Business Administration"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["Texas A&M University"]},"updated_at":"2026-08-21T16:48:44Z"}