Title: Mergers and acquisitions, alliances and technology development: an empirical study of the global auto industry

Authors: Liang-Hung Lin

Addresses: Department of International Business, National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, 415 Chien Kung Road, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan, ROC

Abstract: Corporate-level strategy, which often includes Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) and technological alliances, ultimately wishes to maximise corporate profits and innovativeness. This study examines how M&As and alliances affect internal technological innovation in the global auto industry. Hierarchical regression analyses reveal that M&As intensity is negatively related to innovation, whereas technological alliance is not associated significantly with internal innovation. However, Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation, such as the commitment of continuous improving philosophy, facilitates firms| internal innovation to a great extent. This study also tries to provide deeper explanations of these findings.

Keywords: mergers and acquisitions; M&As; technological alliances; total quality management; TQM; internal innovation; technology development; technology management; automobile industry; automotive alliances; technological innovation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2009.024950

International Journal of Technology Management, 2009 Vol.48 No.3, pp.295 - 307

Published online: 05 May 2009 *

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