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Table 1From “The European failure number nobody quotes”

The failure rate across folklore and empirical evidence

The circulating consulting assertions compared to dedicated peer-reviewed empirical studies of European M&A transactions.

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Table 1The failure rate across folklore and empirical evidence

SourceFailure rate citedWhat was actually measuredBasis
Christensen et al. (2011, HBR)70% to 90%Uncited headline assertionFolk layer (zero citations)
KPMG (1999)83%107 cross-border deals: 17% created value, 30% preserved, 53% destroyedConflates "no value change" with failure
German business press (Lippold, etc.)60% to 80%Secondary quotes ("drei von vier scheitern")Unreferenced secondary media
Schoenberg (2006, BJM)44% to 56%61 British acquisitions of continental European firms, 1988–19904 independent performance metrics
Craninckx & Huyghebaert (2011, EFM)38% to 53%773 European transactions (listed & private targets)2-yr BHAR, EBITDA benchmark, divestments

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Source: Author's assembly from the cited primary literature and circulating business media: Christensen et al. (2011), reprint R1103B; KPMG (1999); Lippold (2020); Unternehmeredition (2023); Craninckx & Huyghebaert (2011); Schoenberg (2006).

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APA 7

Isoglu, S. (2026). The failure rate across folklore and empirical evidence [Table]. isoglu.com. https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-the-european-number-nobody-quotes-fig01/

BibTeX
@misc{isoglu-2026-the-european-number-nobody-quotes-fig01,
  author = {Isoglu, Sinan},
  title = {{The failure rate across folklore and empirical evidence}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Table 1, isoglu.com},
  url = {https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-the-european-number-nobody-quotes-fig01/},
  note = {From the essay {The European failure number nobody quotes}}
}
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  <a href="https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-the-european-number-nobody-quotes-fig01/">
    <img src="https://isoglu.com/social/isoglu-2026-the-european-number-nobody-quotes-fig01.png" alt="Table 1: The failure rate across folklore and empirical evidence" width="3200" height="2400">
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  <figcaption>Table 1: The failure rate across folklore and empirical evidence. Source: Author&#39;s assembly from the cited primary literature and circulating business media: Christensen et al. (2011), reprint R1103B; KPMG (1999); Lippold (2020); Unternehmeredition (2023); Craninckx &amp; Huyghebaert (2011); Schoenberg (2006). <a href="https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-the-european-number-nobody-quotes-fig01/">View exhibit</a>.</figcaption>
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