The Impact of an Acquisition on Knowledge Transfer : A case study on three acquired Shopping Centers

Abstract: This study investigates an acquisition scenario where a property company acquired five Swedish shopping centers from a competitor. The aim was to investigate how certain organizational changes - organizational structure, company strategy and interaction routines - that followed after the acquisition had an impact on knowledge transfer on an intra- and inter-organizational level. This study investigated three out of the five acquired shopping centers. The analysis showed that changes of key positions after the acquisition led to uncertainties about roles and responsibilities and thus negatively impacted knowledge transfer. Furthermore, in two of the three shopping centers, the geographical distance between the property company and the shopping centers caused problems in organising face-to-face meetings which also inhibited knowledge transfer. However, the results also showed that there may be positive impacts of an acquisition on knowledge transfer, such as a lower level of control by the property company. In conclusion, it can be stated that the organizational changes following the acquisition impacted knowledge transfer to different degrees in the three investigated shopping centers.