The impact of M&A on the R&D process: An empirical analysis of the role of technological- and market-relatedness

详细信息    查看全文

• 作者：Cassiman ; Bruno ; Colombo ; Massimo G. ; Garrone ; Paola ; Veugelers ; Reinhilde
• 关键词：M& ; A ; R& ; D ; Scale and scope ; Market-relatedness ; Technology-relatedness
• 刊名：Research Policy
• 出版年：2005
• 出版时间：March, 2005
• 年：2005
• 卷：34
• 期：2
• 页码：195-220
• 全文大小：198 K

文摘

Using information on 31 in-depth cases of individual M&A deals, we show that technological and market-relatedness between M&A partners distinctly affects the inputs, outputs, performance and organisational structure of the R&D process. While the findings in the literature on the effect of M&A on R&D are quite mixed, we can sharpen results by analysing data at the level of the R&D process. This comes at the price of a smaller sample and more qualitative data, for which caution in the interpretation is necessary. M&A between partners with ex-ante complementary technologies result in more active R&D performers after the M&A. In sharp contrast, when merged entities are technologically substitutive, they significantly decrease their R&D level after the M&A. Moreover, R&D efficiency increases more prominently when merged entities are technologically complementary than when they are substitutive. These two findings on the R&D level and the performance support the scope economy effect of M&A, on the one hand, and reject the scale economy effect of M&A, on the other. Next, for cases in which partners were active in the same technological fields before the M&A, the reduction of R&D is more prominent, while the R&D efficiency gain is smaller if merged entities were rivals in the product market prior to their merger than if they were non-rival. This suggests that rival firms reap little technology gains from mergers.