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The Role of Absorptive Capacity in Acquisition Knowledge Transfer
Author(s) -
Junni Paulina,
Sarala Riikka M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
thunderbird international business review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.553
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1520-6874
pISSN - 1096-4762
DOI - 10.1002/tie.21554
Subject(s) - absorptive capacity , business , context (archaeology) , knowledge transfer , knowledge management , sample (material) , process (computing) , industrial organization , computer science , paleontology , chemistry , chromatography , biology , operating system
This article examines the role of absorptive capacity in acquisitions. We propose that absorptive capacity is an important determinant of acquisition knowledge transfer. Also, we identify antecedents of absorptive capacity in the specific context of acquisitions. These include contextual (national cultural differences), individual (employee withdrawal), and organizational design level (integration process communication, knowledge processing system) antecedents. We test our hypotheses on a sample of domestic and foreign acquisitions conducted by Finnish companies. This study contributes to the acquisition literature by elaborating on the role of absorptive capacity in acquisitions and to the general absorptive capacity literature by highlighting the importance of previously underexplored antecedents and outcomes of absorptive capacity. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.