Knowledge transfer in international acquisitions

This paper reports on a multimethod study of knowledge transfer in internat ional acquisitions. Using questionnaire data we show that the transfer of t echnological know-how is facilitated by communication, visits & meetings, a nd by time elapsed since acquisition, while the transfer of patents is asso ciated with the articulability of the knowledge, the size of the acquired u nit, and the recency of the acquisition. Using case study data, we show tha t the immediate post-acquisition period is characterized by imposed one-way transfers of knowledge from the acquirer to the acquired, but over time th is gives way to high-quality reciprocal knowledge transfer.