Authors: Jawwad Z. Raja; Kai Inga Basner; Mehmet Chakkol; Thomas Frandsen
While the servitization literature has steadily increased in the last two decades, limited research attention has been given to how companies may acquire service capabilities through mergers and acquisitions (M&As). In this paper, we investigate post-merger integration (PMI) and how the motivation for the M&A may create different, context-dependent integration trajectories. We present initial findings from three longitudinal case studies, considering a total of seven M&As across three different industries. Findings show that a high level of PMI may not always be desirable and that granting higher autonomy to targets might be helpful in sustaining the strong service capabilities for which they were acquired. Product-centric acquisitions, however, might require tighter integration and less autonomy, especially when the targets are accompanied by established service network partners that may interfere with the acquirer’s own service operations. The different PMI trajectories for the acquired firms are presented and discussed.
Journal: n.a. (n.a. – n.a.)
Web Address: n.a.
Publish Year: 2017
Conference: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2017)