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Paper info: Acquisitions of innovative firms and their impact oncustomer access

Title


Acquisitions of innovative firms and their impact oncustomer access

Authors


Christina Grundström
Linköping Institue of Technology
Sweden
Christina Grundström ,
Christina Öberg
Linköping University
Sweden
Christina Öberg and Petter Jonsson

Place of Publication


The paper was published at the 21st IMP-conference in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 2005.

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Abstract


Traditionally, the literature depicts acquisitions of technology or innovative firms as a means for theacquirer to obtain resources or knowledge. This paper challenges the traditional view. We take theperspective of an innovative firm to ask the question: In what ways does the acquirer affect thecustomer access for the target company? This question is addressed where the acquirer is a companywithin a mature industry, the target is an innovative firm, and when the target’s customers at the sametime are competitors to the acquirer. The discussion takes its point of departure in a literature reviewand a case study. The case study highlights issues of customer access in dimensions of ownershipand integration; issues that are found to be missing in the reviewed literature. As this paper considersthe situation from the target’s perspective it contributes to the literature on acquisitions of innovativefirms. Furthermore, it contributes to the innovation literature through highlighting the influence ofownership on an innovative company in the process of getting customer access.