Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/41435 
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 10-066
Publisher: 
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW), Mannheim
Abstract: 
Inventors often experience a low productivity after their company has been subject to a merger or acquisition (M&As). It is of central managerial interest to identify factors facilitating the integration of new inventive staff and thereby counteracting innovation declines after M&As. This paper provides empirical evidence into the role of acquiring firms' absorptive capacity for the post-merger patent productivity of the acquired inventors. Based on a sample of 544 inventors employed by European acquisition targets in the period 2000-2001 it is shown that the post-merger productivity of acquired inventors is significantly higher within acquiring firms with a distinct absorptive capacity. It can be concluded that absorptive capacity is a firm capability that enhances the integration of inventors after firm takeovers.
Subjects: 
M&As
absorptive capacity
inventor productivity
JEL: 
O30
O32
G34
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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