Prior research on technology acquisition has primarily concentrated on the innovation outcomes of acquiring firms post-acquisition, often neglecting the effects on the innovation performance of the acquired firms. This study seeks to fill that gap by investigating the quality of new products developed by acquired firms post-acquisition. We contend that the acquisition process may create challenges in technology coordination that disrupt the innovation routines and processes of these firms, potentially leading to a higher incidence of new product failures. To evaluate our hypotheses, we utilized a difference-in-difference and matching methodology within the U.S. medical device sector. Our analyses at both the firm and product levels provide evidence that products from acquired firms are more likely to experience quality failures. We identified various technological coordination processes that influence product quality within the acquired firms, including the integration of the acquirer's technology into the new products, the introduction of products in unfamiliar technological domains, and the development of new complex products that combine the technologies of both the acquiring and acquired firms.
