The effect of hybrid mobile engineers on post-aquisition knowledge integration

This paper suggests a unique group of mobile engineers who departed from the acquiring firms to target firms or vice versa prior to acquisitions and then return to their previous firms due to acquisitions. We refer to them as hybrid mobile engineers. We address how hybrid mobile engineers enhance post-acquistion knowledge integration between acquiring and target firms. We find that the relational capitals of hybrid mobile engineers promote post- acquistion knowledge integration. Our findings do not support the positive relationship between their intellectual capitals and post- acquistion knowledge integration. In addition, the structural integration positively moderates the relationship between the intellectual and relational capitals of hybrid mobile engineers and knowledge integration after acquisitions. The findings of this paper imply that hybrid mobile engineers is important cooridnation mechanism to connect knowledge and people between target and acquiring firms.