Mergers and acquisitions as drivers of business model innovation in the U.S. medical device industry: Evidence from 101 Cases (2018–2024)

The objective of this study is to investigate whether Mergers and Acquisitions (hereafter, M&A) can promote Business Model Innovation (hereafter, BMI) in the medical device industry by examining 101 M&A cases in the U.S. from 2018 to 2024. Medical device firms have strived to achieve accelerated growth by innovating their business models. Despite the device firms’ significant efforts to deliver additional value to stakeholders, many of these firms find themselves with their backs against the wall. While a vast amount of research exists on the topic of BMI, there are very few studies specifically focused on the BMI of medical device companies. This study aims to understand how established medical device companies drive their BMI by leveraging M&A. To identify emerging M&A trends in major markets such as the U.S., this research adopts a case study approach as an appropriate method to explore how each device company is pursuing innovation in its business model. The findings of this study suggest that established medical device companies in the U.S. continue to achieve sustainable competitive growth by actively pursuing M&A in a dynamic market landscape.