Customer knowledge sharing in cross-border mergers and acquisitions: The role of customer motivation and promise management

Knowledge is a vital source of competitive advantage and renewal for contemporary organizations. However, to date, few studies have scrutinized how mergers acquisitions (M&As)—processes dependent on knowledge sharing—offer valuable inter-organizational context through which understand the attainment customer sharing following M&As. Applying an integrated theoretical perspective from relationship management M&A performance research, we study Chinese–Finnish acquisition firms acquired party across four advanced Western countries. We find that active process relies factors dedication-based motivation vs. concerns about M&As maintain relationships after acquisitions. In addition, more importantly, promise mechanisms—making promises, enabling keeping promises—of parties reinforce motivational in cross-border propose conceptual framework