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2012 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

9. The Impact of Technological Acquisitions on Innovation Quality

Author : Philipp Buss

Published in: Technology Transfer in a Global Economy

Publisher: Springer US

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Abstract

In recent years M&A has been as a prominent strategy in the context of inter-firm technology transfer. Prior literature has evaluated the latter by using different types of post-merger innovation measurements. In this connection the chapter provides a framework to analyze the effects of corporate acquisitions on innovation quality. The approach presumes that an acquirer’s post-merger innovation outcome is a function of learning capabilities with respect to recent technologies.

We investigate a sample of German domestic and cross-border takeovers, in order to analyze the ex-ante determinants of post-merger innovation quality. The data is based on patent information from the German Patent and Trade Mark Office.

The results show that especially middle-aged and specialized acquirers achieve improved innovation quality subsequent to takeovers. Furthermore, the measurement via patent citations allows a more direct consideration of the value created by corporate acquisitions.

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Title: The Impact of Technological Acquisitions on Innovation Quality
Author: Philipp Buss
Publisher: Springer US
Book: Technology Transfer in a Global Economy
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6101-2

Electronic ISBN: 978-1-4614-6102-9

Copyright Year: 2012
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6102-9_9

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