Bank mergers under a changing regulatory environment

Over the last 30 years, American banks transformed their organization through mergers and concentration. Which organizational theory better fits banks' responses to the four distinctive regulatory policy environments they faced over these years? An event-history analysis of mergers suggests that resource-dependence theory has a better overall fit than organizational ecology theory. However, the balance of influence shifted from external environmental causes toward internal organizational causes as deregulation created competitive pressures. Organizational efficiency had little bearing on the likelihood of a bank's being involved in a merger.