Customer retention: A source of value for serial acquirers

• The paper provides a model of the linkage between serial acquirers and customer retention—a long term performance indicator.
• Serial acquirers should focus on retaining acquired firms' customers to enhance their post-acquisition value or performance.
• To enhance value, serial acquirers should carefully balance their desire to be in control with external network influences.
• The paper stresses the adoption of behavioural customer-centred variables and/or perspective to serial acquisition research.
• The paper stresses the importance of acquired firms' customers particularly for serial acquirers' of technology-based firms.

Customer retention, in most cases, is regarded as an indicator of acquisition performance, but factors influencing it have rarely been studied in the serial acquirer context. As a consequence, this paper presents a model of the linkage between serial acquirers and customer retention by drawing on serial acquirer and customer relationship marketing and management literature. The paper proposes that the serial acquirers' focus on retaining acquired firms' business customers per acquisition deals may enhance the post-acquisition value. Furthermore, serial acquirers' acquisition experience (skills), managerial overconfidence/hubris, own customers' behaviour and technological context are identified to impact the customer retention of the acquired firm. Moreover, two dual-purpose variables—acquired firms' customer experience and acquired firms' customer relationships—are proposed to moderate the effects of serial acquirers' acquisition experience (skills), managerial overconfidence/hubris, own customers' behaviour and technological context on acquired firm customer retention and also to autonomously influence acquired firms' customer retention. The implications for serial acquirers and practice are discussed.