Knowledge Transfer in International Acquisitions
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Knowledge
International
In
Acquisitions
HenrikBresman* SCHOOLOF ECONOMICS STOCKHOLM
JulianBirkinshaw** LONDONBUSINESSSCHOOL
RobertNobel*** SCHOOLOF ECONOMICS STOCKHOLM
This paper reports on a multimethod study of knowledge transfer in international acquisitions. Using questionnaire data we show that the transfer of technological know-how is facilitated by communication, visits & meetings, since and by time elapsed acquisition, while the transfer of patents is associated with the articulability of the knowledge,
the size of the acquired unit, and the recency of the acquisition. Using case study data, we show that the immediate post-acquisition period is characterized by imposed one-way transfers of knowledge from the acquirer to the acquired, but over time this gives way to high-quality reciprocal knowledge transfer.
*Henrik Bresman is a research associate at the Institute of International Business, Stockholm School of Economics, and a PhD Candidate at the Sloan School of Management, MIT. His doctoral research focuses on the external integration of knowledge in large firms. * Julian Birkinshaw is assistant professor of strategic and international management at the
London Business School. He was formerly assistant professor at the Institute of International Business, Stockholm School of Economics. His research is concerned with issues of strategy and organization in multinational corporations. ***
Robert Nobel is a research associate at the Institute of International Business, Stockholm School of Economics. His research focuses on the management of R&D in large firms.
Professor Lars H'akanson is gratefully acknowledged for his essential contributions to the data collection for this study. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1997 Academy of International Business Conference, Monterey, Mexico. Thanks to Aya Chacar, Andrew Delios and Charles Danarhaj for their comments. Research assistance from Pernille Hanson and Anne Selander is gratefully acknowledged. JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STUDIES, 30, 3 (THIRD QUARTER 1999):
439-462.
439
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KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN INTERNATIONAL ACQUISITIONS
KNOWLEDGE INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERIN ACQUISITIONS
Overthe last few yearstherehas been an upsurge in interest among scholars on the importance of knowledge management in firms. An argumentusually put forward is that we have gone from an industrial age in which the most important resource was capital, into an age in which the most critical resource is knowledge. The implication for the firm is that it is increasingly difficult to attain and sustain a competitive advantage through the reallocation of capital and other assets of the balance sheet. Meanwhile, those who have gained a competitive edge over their rivals, have increasingly done so through innovative recombination of knowledge. To put it somewhat more dramatically, there is evidence suggestin
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