Does employee mobility network influence acquisition behavior? Evidence from the semiconductor industry

Abstract

This article examines the role of employee mobility networks in influencing a firm’s merger and acquisition behavior. Specifically, we draw upon the social network perspective and theorize that a firm’s employee mobility network centrality positively influences the number of announced merger and acquisition deals in a hi-tech industry. However, the firm’s prior acquisition experience and absorptive capacity negatively moderate the relationship between the employee mobility network centrality and the number of announced merger and acquisition deals. Our findings based on a sample of US semiconductor firms in the period 1992–2010 provide robust support to our theorization.