Integration, network and industrial innovation in technology sourcing overseas M&A: a comparison between China and South Korea

Appropriate integration in technology sourcing overseas M&A is effective for acquirers to improve their innovation network positions and to promote domestic industrial innovation. We use the technology sourcing overseas M&A of Chinese and South Korean manufacturing industries as samples for empirical analysis. The results show that post-merger integration strategy should match resource characteristics between acquiring and acquired firms to promote industrial innovation through innovation network position improvement. Specifically, high-degree integration should match high-resource-similarity / low-resource-complementarity acquired firms, low-degree integration should match low-resource-similarity / high-resource-complementarity acquired firms, and moderate-degree integration should match high-resource-similarity / high-resource-complementarity acquired firms. The acquirer's home country institutional development enhances the effect of post-merger integration. This study provides guidance for promoting industrial innovation through post-merger integration.