Korean Academic Society of Business Administration
[ Article ]
korean management review - Vol. 54, No. 3, pp.743-785
ISSN: 1226-1874 (Print)
Print publication date 30 Jun 2025
Received 31 Jan 2025 Revised 25 Apr 2025 Accepted 14 May 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17287/kmr.2025.54.3.743

Woven Together: Niche Crowding and the Dual Forces of Cooperation and Competition After M&A

Yonghwan Lee ; Kwangjun An
(First Author) University of Seoul yonghwan.lee1@uos.ac.kr
(Corresponding Author) McGill University kwangjun.an@mcgill.ca
함께 엮다: 인수합병 후 공동 발명에서 적소 밀집과 협력 · 경쟁의 이중적 역학
이용환 ; 안광준
(주저자) 서울시립대학교
(교신저자) 맥길대학교


Copyright 2025 THE KOREAN ACADEMIC SOCIETY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The success of mergers and acquisitions (M&As), particularly in knowledge-intensive industries, depends heavily on human capital dynamics. This study examines how acquirer inventors collaborate with the incoming target workforce, focusing on joint invention―a critical but often overlooked aspect of postacquisition integration. Drawing on niche theory, we investigate how acquirer inventors respond to niche crowding caused by the addition of the target workforce. We explore how they manage the tension between cooperation and competition in joint invention efforts. Using data from inventors in the U.S. high-tech sector involved in acquisitions between 2002 and 2015, we find that acquirer inventors are more likely to collaborate when their competitiveness is relatively low―marked by declining performance and peripheral positions in the inventor network. In contrast, when both groups operate in similar technological domains or within related acquisitions, competitive pressure intensifies. This often shifts the dynamic toward rivalry, reducing joint invention engagement. These findings contribute to the literature on postacquisition integration and extend niche theory by showing how niche crowding shapes the balance between cooperation and competition among merged workforces.

Keywords:

acquirer inventors, collaborative behavior, competitive dynamics, joint invention, niche crowding, post-acquisition integration

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∙ The author Yonghwan Lee is a lecturer of management at the University of Seoul, Republic of Korea. He received his PhD in Strategy & Organization from the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University in Canada. His research interests include corporate development, technological innovation, organizational change and design, social networks, and big data analysis.

∙ The author Kwangjun An is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Organization at the Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University. His research focuses on technology management, organizational change and adaptation, and strategic communication. He employs multi-method empirical approaches in his research, including social network analysis, large-scale textual analysis, and archival data analysis.