Manifestations of Higher-Order Routines : The Underlying Mechanisms of Deliberate Learning in the Context of Post-Acquisition Integration

Building on the codification and dynamic capabilities literatures, we pursue deeper insight into the underlying mechanisms of deliberate learning in the context of post-acquisition integration. We argue that experience codification gives rise to inertial forces that hamper the customization of routines to any given acquisition. We theorize, therefore, that successful acquirers develop higher-order routines - as manifested in two complementary sets of concrete organizational practices - that serve to prevent the generalization of inapplicable (zero-order) codified routines. After drawing on in-depth qualitative data to help build our theoretical argument, we test it formally based on unique survey data on 85 active acquirers