European Journal of Innovation Management

Purpose – Acquiring knowledge-intensive firms in order to gain access to their knowledge to innovate is not a strategy to achieve easily. Knowledge acquisitions demand that organizations integrate various dispersed knowledge-based resources and thus share knowledge to innovate. However, despite the growing number of knowledge acquisitions an understanding regarding these knowledge sharing processes has remained absent. This paper argues that having an acquisition reconfiguration capability can be seen as a distinctive knowledge sharing ability of successful firms. The purpose of this paper is therefore to reveal the building blocks of such an acquisition reconfiguration capability in order to understand how to manage more successful knowledge acquisitions.

Design/methodology/approach – The approach of the research is to the review relevant literature while addressing two questions: “Which mechanisms, practices, and functions enable post-acquisition knowledge sharing?”, and “How can these mechanisms, practices, and functions enable the creation of an acquisition reconfiguration capability in order to enable more successful knowledge acquisition?”.

Findings – Several propositions regarding the building blocks of an acquisition reconfiguration capability are given. First, it is argued that having prior acquisition experience will positively affect post-acquisition knowledge sharing. Second, various acquisition-specific tools and functions affect post-acquisition knowledge sharing and mediate the effect of acquisition experience. Finally, knowledge management tools and practices enhance post-acquisition knowledge sharing.

Originality/value – This study is, to the authors' knowledge, one of the first to focus on the underlying mechanisms and practices that affect post-acquisition knowledge sharing and thus the building blocks of an acquisition reconfiguration capability.