Symantec's Strategy of Acquiring Entrepreneurial Companies
This paper evaluates Symantec's strategy of acquiring small, entrepreneurial technology companies as a driver of growth and innovation. It examines the benefits of this approach—including cost savings on internal R&D, access to new market niches, and synergy creation—alongside key risks such as market obsolescence, product integration failure, and cultural incompatibility. The paper also analyzes Symantec's structured three-phase acquisition model (Prospecting, Scrubbing, and Integration), detailing how cross-functional teams of varying sizes guide each stage. Special attention is given to the company's emphasis on a well-managed acquisition announcement as a tool for retaining key talent and ensuring organizational alignment.
- Introduction to Symantec's Acquisition Approach: Overview of cross-functional acquisition teams and strategy
- Merits of Acquiring Entrepreneurial Companies: Benefits including R&D savings, market entry, and synergies
- Risks and Uncertainties in the Acquisition Strategy: Market, product, and people risks examined
- Phase 1: Prospecting: Deal desirability review and initial screening process
- Phase 2: Scrubbing: Detailed due diligence with expanded cross-functional team
- Phase 3: Integration and Announcement Management: Onboarding, liaison roles, and strategic announcement planning
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What makes this paper effective
- Clearly balances a merits-and-demerits framework before transitioning into a process analysis, giving the paper a logical two-part structure.
- Grounds abstract strategic concepts (synergy, risk categories) in concrete details drawn from Symantec's documented practices, making the argument more credible.
- Integrates peer-reviewed academic citations (Laamanen & Kell; Love & Roper) to support claims about cross-functional teams and serial acquirer performance.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied case analysis: it takes a real company's documented strategy and evaluates it against both academic theory and practical risk categories. Rather than simply describing what Symantec does, the author connects each practice to a broader strategic rationale, showing why the approach succeeds or where it carries inherent danger.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an overview of Symantec's cross-functional acquisition team model, then moves into a two-sided evaluation of merits (R&D savings, market entry, synergy) versus risks (market, product, and people). The second half systematically walks through Symantec's three-phase acquisition model—Prospecting, Scrubbing, and Integration—with team-size escalation and key activities at each stage. The paper concludes by highlighting the strategic importance of the acquisition announcement itself.
Introduction to Symantec's Acquisition Approach
There are many dimensions to Symantec's acquisition style, and this strategy drove a significant portion of the company's success in the mid-to-late 1990s. The company employed an acquisition team that was cross-functional in composition and was sized according to the current stage of the acquisition. Team members would perform their normal responsibilities alongside the additional duties demanded by each acquisition project. The composition of cross-functional teams has been shown to be an invaluable asset in overcoming spatial and organizational barriers in the acquisition process, especially when technical elements are involved (Love & Roper, 2008).
Works Cited
Laamanen, T. & Kell, T., 2008. Performance of serial acquirers: toward an acquisition program perspective. Strategic Management, 29(6), pp. 663–672.
Love, J. & Roper, S., 2008. Organizing innovation: Complementarities between cross-functional teams. Technovation, 29(3), pp. 192–203.
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