Manifestations of Higher-Order Routines: The Underlying Mechanisms of Deliberate Learning in the Context of Postacquisition Integration

Koen H. Heimeriks , Mario Schijven , Stephen Gates (1)

1 Audencia Recherche

Building on the codification and dynamic capabilities literatures, we pursue deeper insight into the underlying mechanisms of deliberate learning in the context of postacquisition integration. We argue that experience codification gives rise to inertial forces that hamper the customization of routines to any given acquisition. We theorize, therefore, that successful acquirers develop higher-order routines-as manifested in two complementary sets of concrete organizational practices-that prevent the generalization of inapplicable ('zero-order') codified routines. After drawing on in-depth qualitative data to help build our theoretical argument, we test it formally with unique survey data on 85 active acquirers.

Keywords: Merger/Acquisition strategy and implementation; Corporate Strategy; Business Policy and Strategy; Organizational learning; Organization and Management Theory; Knowledge Management; Strategic Management Process

Domains: Humanities and Social Sciences; Business administration

Koen H. Heimeriks, Mario Schijven, Stephen Gates. Manifestations of Higher-Order Routines: The Underlying Mechanisms of Deliberate Learning in the Context of Postacquisition Integration. Academy of Management Journal, 2012, 55 (3), pp.703-726. ⟨10.5465/amj.2009.0572⟩. ⟨hal-00859930⟩