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A wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has been consistently rising among the China’s ChiNext companies over the past years, which has drawn great attention across academia and industry. Based on the neoclassical theory and the behavioral theory, this paper explores the driving factors of M&A among Chinese ChiNext companies. Two hypotheses were put forward: one based on IPO over-financing and the other based on the market value overvaluation. IPO over-financing is specific to the Chinese capital market while market value overestimation is driven by the continuous upsurge in the ChiNext Market. Our study found that both factors account for enterprises’ mergers and acquisitions. They have far-reaching influences on such fields as acquisition probability, the size of the transaction, transaction frequency, M&A payment method and market reaction. Due to IPO over-financing, enterprises tend to carry out M&A via cash payment or cash and stock mixed payment method. Heavier IPO over-financing will increase the chance of M&A and leads to larger transaction size and higher transaction frequency. Market value overvaluation will lead to more uses of stock or cash and stock mixed payment on M&A transactions. When the company’s stock is overvalued, the company will use the overvalued equity to acquire other companies. Greater overvaluation of the market value also increases the chance of M&A and leads to a larger transaction size and higher frequency of M&A. In China, IPO over-financing rather than market value over-valuation, is the major driving factor for China’s corporate mergers and acquisitions. Further study found that the market reaction to different payment methods in mergers and acquisitions varies: it has the minimum reaction on cash payment, a larger reaction on stock payment and the greatest reaction on mixed payment. Also, the mixed payment method has the largest cumulative abnormal returns. This is different from the empirical findings in the United States and Europe. This paper provides a theoretical basis and empirical evidence for an in-depth understanding of the wave of mergers and acquisitions of Chinese ChiNext companies, and provides a basis for decision-making and policy recommendations for the government regulators and investors.

The unauthorized use of pesticides applied at inappropriate times and/or in unregistered crops is a potential risk to the environment and also to human health. The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge and awareness of farmers on the use, risk, and hazards associated with the exposure to pesticides in the agricultural region of Sancti Spíritus, Cuba. To comply with the objective, 124 farmers of this province were surveyed. The results were analyzed initially through a descriptive analysis and then, performing an association analysis using the Chi-Square test and Spearman ́s correla-tions, employing the statistical package SPSS version 20.0. The results showed that only 28.3 % of the farmers had received specific training on pesticides. Personal experience was the main driver for de-cisions about which pesticides to use and how it would be applied. About 35.8 % of the farmers stored pesticides in unmarked containers, such as soft drink bottles. The empty containers are stored to be incinerated (31.7 %) or reused (42.6 %) for pesticides, water, or fuel. Around 90 % of the farmers surveyed do not use personal protective equipment. The study concludes that the lack of knowledge and use of personal protective equi-pment, the inability to understand the labels and also the low risk-perception are the main causes of exposure to pesticides and the health risk for workers and nearby residents, as well as the damages caused to the environment. El uso no autorizado de plaguicidas, como la aplicación en momentos inadecuados o en cultivos no registrados, es un riesgo potencial para el medio ambiente y la salud humana. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el nivel de conocimiento y concientización entre los agricultores sobre el uso, riesgo y peli-gros asociados con la exposición a plaguicidas en la región agrícola de Sancti Spíritus, Cuba. Para el desarrollo del objetivo se encuestaron 124 campesinos de la provincia. Los resultados fueron analizados a partir de un análisis descriptivo inicial y luego a través de un análisis de asociación mediante la prueba Chi-Cuadrado y Correlaciones de Spearman, empleando el paquete estadístico SPSS versión 20.0. Los resultados mostraron que solo el 28,3 % de los agricultores había recibido capacitación específica en plaguicidas. La experiencia personal es el principal impulsor de las decisiones sobre qué plaguicidas usar y cómo utilizarlo. El 35,8 % de los agricultores almacenó plaguicidas en recipientes sin marcar, como botellas de refrescos. Los contenedores vacíos se almacenan para ser incinerados (31,7 %) o reutilizados (42,6 %) para plaguicidas, agua o gasolina. Alrededor del 90 % de los agricultores no utiliza equipos de protección personal. El estudio concluye que la falta de conocimiento, el no uso de equipo de protección personal, la incapacidad para entender las etiquetas y la baja percepción de riesgos son las principales causas de la exposición a los plaguicidas y el riesgo para la salud de los trabajadores y residentes cercanos, así como de los daños al medio ambiente.