Acquisitions in knowledge‐intensive industries : Exploring the distinctive characteristics of the effective acquirer

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of specific variables, that are strategic orientations, organizational model and prior acquisitions experience, in the management of acquisitions that are not motivated exclusively by financial objectives. Design/methodology/approach – Multiple cases have been developed, selecting frequent acquirers and analysing the dynamics of acquisitions implementation. Within‐case analysis was aimed at describing the acquisition and integration processes experienced by the selected firms, identifying the role of the researched variables in each phase and their impact on the acquisition outcomes. Thereafter, cross‐case analysis was used to look for the presence of similarities across multiple cases. The organizational characteristics under investigation are proposed as hallmarks of the effective acquirer in knowledge‐intensive industries. Findings – Characteristics such as the market orientation, the entrepreneurial orientation, the organizational model, the experience in acquisitions management and the investments in knowledge codification emerged from the cases as critical in managing acquisitions that are mainly motivated by the need of the acquirer to have access to knowledge‐based resources of the target. Research limitations/implications – The paper gives a contribution to the debate going on in literature about the role of new variables in explaining the acquisitions success or failure and the non‐financial motives for acquisitions. It tries to bring the expertise showed by certain firms in managing acquisitions in knowledge‐based industries to specific and, until now, under‐researched features that characterize them. The main limitation of the study is the generalizability of the developed framework, due to the bounded number and the nature of case studies. All the examined firms operate in the field of IT services and all the considered acquisitions are horizontal. Originality/value – Even if literature has long emphasized the need to prioritize the multiple aspects of the acquisition process and discussed the role of multiple variables in explaining the variance in acquisitions outcomes, empirical research has not completely identified the antecedents of the acquisitions performance and has traditionally overlooked the non‐financial motives for acquisitions. This study focuses on high‐tech industries, where acquisitions are motivated mainly by motives other than financial, and investigates the role of specific and under‐researched characteristics of the acquirer firms.