7It seems that factors having little to do with corporate economic interests explain acquisitions. 8These factors may include the incentive compensation of executives, lack of monitoring by boards of directors, and managerial error in estimating the value of firms targeted for acquisition. 9Alternatively, the acquisition acts of bidders may derive from modeling: a manager does what other managers do.

According to the passage, during the 1970's and 1980's bidding firms differed from the firms for which they bid in that bidding firms

A) tended to be more profitable before a merger than after a merger

B) were more often concerned about the impact of acquisitions on national economies

C) were run by managers whose actions were modeled on those of other managers

D) anticipated greater economic advantages from prospective mergers

E) experienced less of an increase in stock value when a prospective merger was announced