Abstract: For the purpose of exploring the issue of high failure rate of Chinese MNEs’ cross-border M&As, the project seeks to develop theoretical framework in dealing with the entry barriers of firms’ cross-border M&As and undertake empirical studies revealing the liability of foreignness encountered by Chinese MNEs. Moreover, combining with organizational learning theory, we also try to uncover the role of experience in this process given the extant liability of foreignness, in order to answer which type experience serves to function, if there is any, and its mechanism. Through the empirical test of 626 cross-border M&A deals of Chinese MNEs during 2005-2014, the paper finds no significant adverse effects exist if the deal involving state-owned identity and sensitive industry factors, while as the quantity of the deal and the quality of the law system as well as economic freedom of host countries do have positive effects in fostering the completion of these deals. The results also show that because Chinese MNEs are less experienced in cross-border deals and also fail to develop learning, transferring and applying ability of experience, most type of their experience are invalid in overcoming liability of foreignness except time-accumulated experience revealing U shape influence. What’s worse, sometimes experience serves to adversely function due to the cost of trial and error.

Key words: cross-border M&A, pre-acquisition stage, liability of foreignness, organizational learning and experience, Probit model