Topic:Hiring High-Skilled Labor through Mergers and Acquisitions

Speaker:Feng Zhang, Associate Professor, Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University

Host:Sichong Chen, Professor, School of Finance, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

Time:15:30-17:30, Monday, March 17, 2025

Location:Room 408, South Wenquan Building, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

Abstract

Using random H-1B visa lotteries as a natural experiment, we document that firms respond to shortages of high-skilled workers by acquiring firms that have such workers and own negligible amounts of tangible assets. Additional tests show that desire for the targets' skilled labor is an important driver of these acquisitions. Using the near-universe of employee LinkedIn profiles and H-1B visa microdata, we also provide direct evidence that skilled workers are hired through these acquisitions. Our findings suggest skilled labor is an important driver of acquisitions and acquisitions are an effective means of hiring skilled labor.

Speaker

Feng Zhang is a tenured Associate Professor of Finance and the Corrigan Research Professor at the Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University. He earned his Ph.D. in Finance from the University of British Columbia in 2011, following a Master’s degree in Accounting from Xi’an Jiaotong University and a Master’s degree in Economics from the National University of Singapore. His research focuses on long-term financial performance, corporate mergers and acquisitions, high-skilled labor mobility, gender and financial decision-making, among other areas. His work has been published in top-tier journals such as the Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and Management Science. Several of his papers have received academic awards, including the Best Paper Award at the 2019 TCU Finance Conference and the Best Doctoral Student Paper Award from the Behavioral Finance Society in 2011. His studies on "Board Gender Diversity and M&A Costs" and "Executive Testosterone Levels and M&A Decisions" have been widely covered by international media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, and Financial Times, sparking ongoing interest from both academia and the public.

Professor Zhang is actively involved in academic service, currently serving as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis and the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance. He has also been a long-time reviewer for leading finance journals. He has served on the organizing committees of international conferences, including the Financial Management Association (FMA) and the European Finance Association (EFA), and has been invited to deliver academic lectures at institutions such as the University of Cambridge, Fudan University, and the Australian National University. His teaching contributions have been recognized with the Sigma Chi Fraternity Teaching Excellence Award in 2018 and the "Emerging Scholar" designation by the University of Utah’s School of Business in 2017. Currently, he is dedicated to exploring cutting-edge topics such as the impact of cross-border talent mobility on financial markets and the evaluation of long-term investment performance, fostering a deep dialogue between theory and practice.