Political embeddedness and post-acquisition innovation in MNEs: The role of experiential learning

Yanze Liang, Axèle Giroud, Asmund Rygh and Zibang Chen

Journal of World Business, 2025, vol. 60, issue 6

Abstract: Political embeddedness has been shown to influence firms’ innovation and internationalization. However, its impact on acquirers’ innovation performance following cross-border acquisitions remains underexplored. Drawing on the resource dependence theory (RDT) and the experiential learning perspective, this study investigates how political embeddedness affects innovation performance after cross-border acquisitions and examines the moderating role of firm-level experiential learning. We further argue that this moderating effect is strengthened when top management team (TMT) members possess greater international experience and cognitive diversity. Using a dataset of Chinese cross-border acquisitions between 2010 and 2020, our findings confirm that political embeddedness negatively affects post-acquisition innovation performance, but that firm- and TMT-level experiential learning jointly mitigate this effect. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the complex nature of experiential learning as a mechanism through which politically embedded firms can improve their innovation in cross-border acquisitions.

Keywords: Political embeddedness; Experiential learning; Top management team; Innovation performance; Cross-border acquisitions; Cognitive diversity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1016/j.jwb.2025.101665

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