Acquisitions: Poison Pill for Innovation?

Abstract: Nowadays, many firms are or have already been engaged in an acquisition process, either as target or acquirer. While these companies seem confident in the potential returns of such endeavors, the positive aspect of those acquisitions has yet to be proven. There is indeed a vivid discussion among scholars, which are divided into two categories. On the one hand, there are those considering acquisitions as a source of additional knowledge that will in turn increase the innovation within the company; and on the other hand, those denigrating acquisitions, assimilating them to a “poison pill” for innovation. The purpose of this research is therefore to investigate whether the acquisitions will influence positively or negatively the innovative performance of companies involved in such processes. Using a quantitative approach, this research analyzed the R&D investments made by those companies and the issued patents gained in return. The research provides mixed results. While acquisitions seem to have a positive impact on the companies‟ innovative performance during the two years following the acquisition, this positive impact does not last and even becomes negative during the third year.