Title: Successful knowledge transfer through HRM practices and absorptive capacity: empirical evidence from cross-border M&As

Authors: Shahbaz Haider; Qasim Ali Nisar; Sonaina Saif Gill; Waseem Ul Hameed; Kamal Badar; Muhammad Saeed Meo

Addresses: School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia ' Department of Business Administration and Management Sciences, The Superior College, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan ' School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia ' School of Business, Management and Administrative Sciences (SBM&AS), The Department of Islamic and Conventional Banking (ICB), The Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB), Punjab, Pakistan ' College of Business Administration, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Ar Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ' The Superior College, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia

Abstract: HRM practices play a key role to facilitate the absorptive capacity of the acquired firms during knowledge transformation which is an essential driver for successful integration between the acquirer and acquired firms. This study examined the effect of HRM practices on knowledge transfer with the mediating effect of absorptive capacity that facilitates the post-acquisition or merger integration regarding the knowledge transfer. Data were collected from 45 acquired organisations of multinational corporations from different countries and PLS-SEM was employed for data analysis. As per findings, HRM practices have a significant relationship with the different dimensions of absorptive capacity and knowledge transfer. Moreover, the components of absorptive capacity significantly mediate the association between HRM practices and knowledge transfer. This study identified absorptive capacity as a manageable ability which can be advanced by the application of specific HRM practices and this is one of the major theoretical contributions of this study.

Keywords: mergers and acquisitions; absorptive capacity; knowledge transfer; knowledge inflow; knowledge implementation; HRM practices; assimilation; exploitation; transformation.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2023.129545

European Journal of International Management, 2023 Vol.19 No.4, pp.585 - 613

Accepted: 09 Mar 2020
Published online: 14 Mar 2023 *

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