TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITIONS AS A SUPPORTING TOOL FOR IMPROVING COMPANIES’ INNOVATIVE POTENTIAL

Sladjana Savovic, Dejana Zlatanovic and Jelena Nikolic

Faculty of Economics, University of Kragujevac, The Republic of Serbia

In line with the open innovation paradigm, technology acquisitions which seek to gain access to new technologies and knowledge are becoming an important strategic tool for enhancing the innovative potential of companies. This research study is aimed at showing how technology acquisitions can help companies be more successful in making an innovation a reality. In that sense, various possibilities of improving companies’ innovative potential after the implementation of technology acquisitions are analyzed in the paper. The challenges that companies are faced with in a period after technology acquisitions are explained and possible ways to overcome those challenges are indicated as well. The results of the conducted empirical research in the impact of technology acquisitions on a company’s innovation are presented. The paper confirms the fact that the process of acquiring technology and knowledge from external sources and the harmonization of external knowledge with the internally developed knowledge base improve a company’s innovative potential. Additionally, the research results show that acquisitions increase the likelihood of innovation in integration companies. Innovations are also made a reality much faster than they would be without the cooperation of companies.

Keywords: technology acquisitions, open innovation, knowledge transfer, performance, innovativeness

JEL Classification: G34, O36, L25