Integrating Knowledge in Cross-border Acquisitions : A Knowledge-based View of Open Innovation in an International Context

This study extends the model of open innovation proposed by Scuotto et al. (2017) by exploring how an acquirer can gain knowledge from the open innovation mode (collaboration) in which the acquired firm has participated in. The motivation of this paper is to understand the mechanisms that support the obtaining of knowledge, namely: (1) collaborating which leads to an innovative ecosystem; (2) gaining knowledge motivated by the localised specialisation; (3) centralising and coordinating decisions as an effective distribution of R&D resources; and (4) bridging knowledge for successful innovation growth. The paper is theoretically grounded in the knowledge-based view and the open innovation design literature. Our findings, based on four in-depth case studies of firms involved in cross-border acquisitions, suggest that acquirers need not pursue collaboration with external parties to gain knowledge if knowledge can already be gained through the acquired firm, which has already pursued such an action. We contribute to the knowledge-based view (and specifically to research on knowledge-building processes in MNEs) by developing a novel conceptual framework of knowledge-building process in cross-border acquisitions. An inductively developed concept of bridging knowledge (transferring key employees, building trust, and communicating with IT tools) is a key element of the framework