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Sociocultural factors are important determinants of merger and acquisition (M&A) outcomes.Despite advances in this field, our understanding of sociocultural factors in M&As remains incomplete. In particular, the roles of sociocultural interfirm linkages, HR flexibility, and organizational cultural differences in M&As require further elucidation. The present article contributes to the M&A literature by further clarifying the multifaceted role of these sociocultural factors in M&As. We suggest that sociocultural interfirm linkages (complementary employee skills, trust, collective teaching, and cultural integration) between the merging firms influence the level of knowledge transfer in M&As. Furthermore, we argue that HR flexibility (flexibility in employee skills, flexibility in employee behavior, and flexibility in HR practices) is vital for the development of the above-mentioned sociocultural interfirm linkages in M&As. Finally, we maintain that organizational cultural differences are important antecedents of HR flexibility in M&As.

Ambidexterity is a growing field of management research. However, the role of human resources (HR) and organizational factors needs further exploration because of the fragmented nature of prior work and the subsequent lack of a unifying framework. Our review of 41 empirical studies identifies distinct research streams that relate to the effects of employee characteristics, leader characteristics, organizational structure, culture, social relationships, and organizational environment on ambidexterity. We discuss the most important findings within each stream, which contributes to the HR and ambidexterity literature by addressing the current state of our knowledge. To move forward research in this area, we identify important, yet underexplored areas in each stream. This contributes to the literature by highlighting specific gaps in our current knowledge that represent new avenues for future research. We also identify important interrelationships between different streams that need further clarification. We summarize our findings into an integrative model that elucidates the role of HR and organizational factors in ambidexterity. This contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of ambidexterity from the HR and organizational perspectives. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Purpose – Organizational innovation is critical for firm competitive advantage. Yet, we do not know enough about the relationship between leadership and organizational innovation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of chief executive officer (CEO) transformational and transactional leadership on organizational innovation. The authors examine the moderating role of environmental dynamism. Design/methodology/approach – The authors collected survey-based data from top management team members in 163 companies in services, construction, manufacturing and other industries in the USA. The authors used multiple regression analyses to test the study hypotheses. Findings – The empirical findings indicate that CEO transformational and transactional leadership behaviors positively influence organizational innovation. However, organizations benefit more from transformational leadership in dynamic environments. Originality/value – This study highlights the role of CEO leadership behavior in the pursuit of organizational innovation. Significantly, the study shows that both transformational and transactional leadership can enhance organizational innovation. However, their effectiveness is contingent on environmental dynamism. This contributes to the firm innovation literature by clarifying how specific types of CEO leadership influence organizational innovation in different environmental conditions.

The aim of the present study is to examine the role of strategic agility as a component of the acquisition process by investigating its constituent elements and effects on knowledge transfer in the context of acquisitions. The study also elaborates on the relationship between knowledge transfer and performance in acquisitions. We test our theoretical model on a quantitative data set of acquisitions conducted by Finnish companies.