Microfoundations of Firm R&D Capabilities: A Study of Inventor Networks in a Merger

Abstract

abstract Taking a cue from a recently evolving stream that calls for exploring the microfoundations of capabilities, we focus on inventor networks to examine how the activities underlying firms' R&D change in the aftermath of a merger. We view mergers as events that cause anxiety and impede inventors' abilities to process research knowledge. Employing the notion of an intra‐firm inventor collaboration network, we hypothesize that in the aftermath of a merger, the impact of knowledge that is prominent and widely available in the intra‐firm network will increase but that the impact of knowledge that, albeit richer, is less easily accessible, will decrease. Our empirical study of the merger of Bristol‐Myers and Squibb supports our hypotheses. The findings enhance our understanding not only of mergers and acquisitions, but also of the microfoundations of a firm's R&D activities.