Knowledge Transfers in Acquisitions - an Exploratory Study and Model

Zusammenfassung

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Although knowledge transfers can be a significant source of value creation in acquisitions, the realization of knowledge-based synergies is frequently hindered by a number of organizational, individual, and knowledge-related factors. Based on existing literature and a small exploratory study, this article develops a comprehensive model of likely facilitators of, and impediments to, postacquisition knowledge transfers.

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Auszug

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Knowledge Transfers in Acquisitions - an Exploratory Study and Model

Introduction

This paper seeks to explore a number of likely influences on knowledge transfers in acquisitions. The importance of such transfers has increased considerably due to the new environmental challenges firms are facing today. That is, the increasing globalization and convergence of industries is forcing many companies to expand their geographic and/or product-market focus rapidly or risk being outgrown by their competitors. Such expansions dramatically increase the information requirements of individual organizations, as new markets normally imply new customers, competitors, stakeholders, and business practices, whose effective management depends on appropriate organizational knowledge and skills (Prusak 1998, Riesenberger 1998). Since a new market entrant may not necessarily have these skills in-house, it must either develop them internally or acquire them externally by cooperating with or taking over other firms that possess them (Barney 1999). Given that firms increasingly choose acquisitions as a faster and more comprehensive means to access locally embedded, tacit knowledge (Barney 1999), their post-acquisition performance tends to depend significantly on the ongoing exchange of knowledge and 'best practices' both amongst their subsidiaries and between their subsidiaries and global headquarters (Haspeslagh/Jemison 1991). For such knowledge exchange to occur, all involved parties must not only be able, but also willing, to cooperate (Bontis 1999). Evidence suggests, however, that acquisitions frequently develop dynamics that undermine cooperation, impede the firms' knowledge-sharing efforts, and thus reduce the potential value of the acquisition itself (Haspeslagh/Jemison 1991, Marks/Mirvis 1998). While research on strategic alliances (Simonin 1999) and multinational corporations (Gupta/Govindarajan 2000) has consistently emphasized human resource issues as potential transfer inhibitors, studies focusing specifically on transfers in acquisitions have examined these issues only cursorily (e.g., Bresman/Birkinshaw/Nobel 1999). This study, therefore, aims to identify potential influences on post-acquisition knowledge transfers as they relate to the organizations' and individuals' ability and willingness to share and receive knowledge. The following sections will explain these influences in more detail.

Preliminary Research Model

Knowledge transfers go beyond mere dissemination and have been defined as "transmission plus absorption (and use)" (Davenport/Prusak 1998, p. 101). Similar to classic communication processes, they tend to be influenced by the "characteristics of the knowledge transferred, of the source, of the recipient, and of the context in which the transfer takes place" (Szulanski 1996, p. 30). The majority of earlier studies on knowledge transfers have examined these influences separately and in isolation, i.e., the impact of knowledge characteristics (e.g., Kogut/Zander 1992, Simonin 1999), participant characteristics (e.g., Cohen/Levinthal 1990, Galunic/Rodan 1998, Gupta/Govindarajan 2000), or the context in which the transfer take...

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