Scholars view alliances and acquisitions as key vehicles for absorbing external knowledge. This study advances prior research by exploring this theme in relation to novel contingencies. These include: individual characteristics (e.g., target CEO’s human capital in acquisitions of small high-tech firms), firms’ organizational design (e.g., delegation of authority over innovation decisions in alliances), formal and informal institutions (e.g., cultural distance in cross-border acquisitions).
Novel insights on alliances and acquisitions for external knowledge sourcing
About the project
Principal Investigators: Massimo G. Colombo, Cristina Rossi-Lamastra
Researcher team: Keivan Aghasi, Massimo G. Colombo, Nicolai Foss, Jacob Lyngsie, Cristina Rossi-Lamastra, Larissa Rabbiosi
Funder: FARB Project granted by Politecnico di Milano
Duration: 2013 – on going
Partners: Copenaghen Business School (Larissa Rabbiosi), Cambridge University (Keivan Aghasi)
OUTPUTS & IMPACTS
- Colombo, M.G., Rabbiosi, L. Technological similarity, post-acquisition R&D reorganization, and innovation performance in horizontal acquisitions. Research Policy, 43(6): 1039-1054, 2014.
- Bonaccorsi A., Rossi-Lamastra C., Giannangeli S. Entry Strategies Under Competing Standards: Hybrid Business Models in the Open Source Software Industry. Management Science, 52(7): 1085-1098, 2006.
- Colombo M.G. Alliance form: A test of the contractual and competence perspectives. Strategic Management Journal, 24(12):1209-1229.
- FARB project (Fund Basic Research) “Micro-foundations for research in cross-border acquisitions: the role of individuals in bridging cultural distance”, assigned by the Milan Polytechnic on the basis of a competitive tender. Amount of the loan: 90,000 euros.
- PRIN 2010-2011 project, “Market and non-market mechanisms for the exchange and diffusion of innovation: when do they work, when they do not work, and why should we care”. Project B41J12000160008 financial support from the PRIN National Research Program. Coordinator of the research unit: Professor Massimo G. Colombo, Politecnico di Milano; national coordinator: Professor Alfonso Gambardella, Università Bocconi.
