The Role of Intellectual Capital in Exploring Start-Ups’Merger and Acquisition Success

This paper proposes a qualitative study to investigate the role of intellectual capital in a successful Merger and Acquisition (M&A) of a start-up and an incumbent company. Empirically, we conducted a case study of a within country M&A transaction between Orienta, a temporary work agency and Myourjob, an innovative start-up. Data were collected through depth personal interviews with the Orienta CEO and myourjob founder. We posit that the M&A success in post-acquisition phase is the result of a circular vision of intellectual capital. We therefore acknowledge the key role of start-up intellectual capital forthe acceptance of innovation, implementation and managing of new services.