Cross-border acquisition completion by emerging market MNEs revisited: Inductive evidence from a machine learning analysis

•This study showcases the capabilities of ML in addressing the complexity of CBA completion by accounting for a multitude of underlying factors and their interactions in an all-embracing and flexible way beyond what can be achieved in extant empirical studies applying non-ML techniques.•Micro (deal and firm-level) and Macro-level (industry, culture or institutional level) factors have different complex effect patterns.•Deals involving public targets and public acquirers, large targets, and/or large deals are less likely to be completed, whereas those involving private targets, private acquirers and/or large acquirers are more likely to be completed.•Some factors, previously identified as crucial in existing empirical research, exhibit negligible effects