Deadly sins and corporate acquisitions

Figures & data

Table 1. Summary of acquisition sins.

Sin	Sin in an acquisition context (and associated concepts)	Symptoms
Lust	Escalation of commitment for a deal and over reliance on acquisitions (deal momentum, over commitment, “hunting instinct”, group think)	Ignoring negative information or dissenting opinions
Gluttony	Pursuing acquisitions that are too big or too frequently (indigestion)	Frequent acquisitions, or merger of equals
Greed	Managerial motives for higher pay and prestige of managing a larger firm (agency)	High CEO pay and/or negative media coverage
Sloth	Lax acquisition implementation (poor integration planning and management)	Employee burnout, turnover, and suicide
Wrath	Emotional decisions colored by personal animosity (revengeful and political behavior, competitive retaliation, “us versus them”)	Anger, or aggressive behavior
Envy	Conducting acquisitions because other firms are making acquisitions (mimetic isomorphism)	High acquisition activity
Pride	Overly positive assumptions about the values the acquirer can create (hubris, overconfidence, “Dunning-Kruger effect”)	High acquisition premium