While research on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) capabilities is accelerating, our understanding of their antecedents and performance implications still remains rather fragmented. Previous research has outlined the importance of learning for building M&A capabilities, but no work has attempted to summarize previous empirical findings regarding different learning mechanisms and their impacts on M&A performance. Mainly drawing upon organizational learning theory and the dynamic capabilities perspective, this study consolidates research on the relationship between different learning mechanisms, post-acquisition integration strategies, and M&A performance. Using meta-analytical techniques, our study shows that the capability-building mechanism relying on deliberate investments in learning tends to be more effective than the capability mechanism based on mere experience accumulation. In addition, our findings indicate that a higher degree of integration is associated with enhanced M&A performance among firms with more developed experiential learning, highlighting the need to explore mediating effects of integration strategy choices on the experiential learning-performance relationship.

虽然对并购 (M&A) 能力的研究正在加速，但我们对其前因和绩效影响的理解仍然相当零散。先前的研究已经概述了学习对于建立并购能力的重要性，但没有任何工作试图总结先前关于不同学习机制及其对并购绩效影响的实证研究结果。本研究主要借鉴组织学习理论和动态能力视角，整合了不同学习机制、收购后整合策略与并购绩效之间关系的研究。使用元分析技术，我们的研究表明，依赖于刻意投资学习的能力建设机制往往比仅基于经验积累的能力机制更有效。此外，我们的研究结果表明，在具有更发达的体验式学习的公司中，更高程度的整合与增强的并购绩效相关，强调需要探索整合战略选择对体验式学习-绩效关系的中介作用。