Merger and acquisition decisions represent strategic actions that enable enterprises to access areas, resources and market power that they cannot reach alone, and reflect a deep-rooted research accumulation in scientific terms.

This study aims to address the development trends represented by the merger and acquisition literature in the last 20 years from a management perspective. For this purpose, bibliometric research methodology was adopted and 959 research articles published in 53 management journals were analysed. VOSviewer software, one of the bibliometric analysis tools, was used in the analysis process.

As a result of the analyses, while the dominance of researchers representing the British school in the field in the last 20 years stands out, 2021 was determined as the year with the highest number of publications on mergers and acquisitions. The relevant finding indicates that the effects of 2021, which is defined as the year of mega mergers, are also reflected in academic production dynamics.

As a result of the keyword analyses conducted to determine the dominant themes in the field, it was determined that the themes related to integration strategies, culture, performance, competencies, trust and merger-acquisition experiences remain effective in the field.

The bibliometric findings obtained as a result of the study were evaluated in coordination with similar studies conducted in the past on the subject, and new research avenues were tried to be developed for future research.