The influence of corporate acquisitions on the behaviour of key inventors

The behaviour of key inventors after the acquisition of their company is ex amined. Key inventors are identified on the basis of their patenting output . They account for a large number of their company's high-quality patents. The analysis of 43 acquisitions shows that key inventors leave to a substan tial extent their company or they significantly reduce their patenting perf ormance after the acquisition. Factors influencing the behaviour of key inv entors after acquisitions are identified. Implications for the effective ma nagement of acquisitions as well as suggestions for further research are ou tlined.