2018 Volume 7 Issue 2 Pages 142-147
This study extracts hypothetical components to build an M&A reference for top managers of small to medium-sized enterprises through case analyses of 43 business units (BUs) acquired by five small to medium-sized headquarters (HQ) in mature industries. Special attention is paid toward the unintended outcomes of the M&A application. This comparative approach explains why the same HQ succeeded in utilizing its competences in a BU, whereas it failed in another. It also explains why for one HQ, the same BU generated bounties, whereas for another HQ, it remained barren. First, in order to determine useful resources in a newly acquired BU that can become future core competences for the HQ, the HQ must be furnished with the capabilities of optimizing its resource allocation across organizational boundaries. Second, in order to apply its competence(s) to a newly acquired BU, the dominant logic of the HQ must suit that specific business.
