4.3 Research and Development

(D. R. King, Slotegraaf, and Kesner 2008) Exploring Resource Interactions in Acquisitions and Firm Performance

  • Objective:

    • Investigate the role of resource interactions between acquiring and target firms in determining post-acquisition performance.
  • Key Findings:

    1. Average Acquisition Impact: Acquisitions, in general, do not automatically lead to higher firm performance.

    2. Complementary Resources: Complementary resource profiles between target and acquiring firms can lead to positive abnormal returns.

      • Marketing-Technology Complementarity: If the acquiring firm has strong marketing resources and the target firm has robust technology resources, these tend to complement each other, leading to enhanced performance.

      • Technology-Technology Substitution: If both the acquiring and target firms have strong technology resources, they can substitute for each other, which may not yield the expected synergistic benefits and might even harm performance.

References

King, David R, Rebecca J Slotegraaf, and Idalene Kesner. 2008. “Performance Implications of Firm Resource Interactions in the Acquisition of r&d-Intensive Firms.” Organization Science 19 (2): 327–40.