The M&A literature argues that acting earlier in merger waves leads to first-mover advantages and a noticeable bump in performance. Second movers tend to wait until better quality information becomes available or because bandwagon pressures lead to a fear of missing out.
Affiliate members of the European M&A Insitute Russell Fralich and Alireza Ahmadsimab published a study in the Journal of Management Studies which identifies a new reason why some will choose to wait despite the consensus of first-mover advantage: the decision-maker's preference to wait was imprinted long ago during their first job. The authors also found that this effect can decay if market conditions differ sufficiently from the earlier ones.
Check the full text of the paper to know more about the imprinting effect of labour market conditions on a CEO's merger wave timing decisions.