Transactive Memory Systems and Acquisition Performance : A Strategic Decision Making Process Perspective

Lou, Bowen and Bauer, Florian and Samba, Codou and Shepherd, Neil (2024) Transactive Memory Systems and Acquisition Performance : A Strategic Decision Making Process Perspective. Journal of Management Studies. ISSN 0022-2380

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Abstract

During the pre-merger phase of an acquisition, fundamental decisions are made concerning whether to buy, which company to buy, and how much to pay. Further, acquisitions carry significant firm-wide implications requiring input from multiple different specializations, and hence, they are the product of the judgments, decisions, and social interactions between top managers. We focus our theory development on a pivotal yet under-researched top management team characteristic, transactive memory system (TMS). TMS is the shared division of cognitive labor with respect to encoding, storing, and retrieving knowledge from individual areas of expertise. We theorize that TMT transactive memory directly influences the strategic decision making process, which in turn determines acquisition performance. We test our hypotheses with a sample of 109 acquisitions, combining survey and archival data. We find that TMT transactive memory increases reliance on expert intuition and procedural rationality, while reducing political behavior; and each of these three strategic decision processes carries different implications for acquisition performance. Our study advances theory by explaining the team-level behavioral mechanisms that underlie acquisition performance.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Journal of Management Studies
Uncontrolled Keywords:
Research Output Funding/no_not_funded
Subjects:
?? no - not fundednobusiness and international managementstrategy and managementmanagement of technology and innovation ??
ID Code:
217087
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
05 Apr 2024 08:45
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
06 Dec 2024 00:50