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We address the following research questions: (1) Is the innovation trajectory of the acquirer affected by previous acquisitions? (2) In which direction knowledge recombination from the acquisition is pushed further? (3) Is the technological acquisition more a means for knowledge exploration and radical innovation or, on the contrary, a way for consolidating previous technological specialization?

The nature of this study is exploratory; therefore, we opted for an inductive approach based on the L'Oréal case study analysis. Data were triangulated from different sources: (a) the L'Oréal website and press releases collected in the 2009–2015 period; (b) journal articles and books on the global cosmetics industry and the insightful work of Jones (2010); (c) the Questel Orbit database containing data on patents; and (d) the Zephyr – Bureau van Dijk database containing information on the acquisitions of firms.

Empirical evidence from a patent data analysis reveals a paradoxical path. On the one hand, acquisitions enable the company to explore new technological spaces; on the other hand, they allow it to reinforce a preexisting technological trajectory, even when the knowledge base of the target is distant from that of the acquirer. Thus, in our case study, the absorption and recombination of knowledge from a variety of domains support specialization more than diversification technology strategies.

We add to innovation management literature a new perspective, by offering a detailed analysis, through patent data, of the knowledge recombination process, led by technological acquisitions.

The hierarchies of effects models have been perpetually updated across different time period. Ever since the evolution of the primary customer path indicated through the Attention, Interest, Desire, Action model in the 1900s, the hierarchical frameworks have witnessed a significant transformation in context to the present age of Web connectivity. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand the transformation in the hierarchy of effects models in the age of connectivity.

This paper is conceptual in nature and an attempt to provide an overall view of the shifting dimension in the customer path as indicated in the various hierarchies of effects models since evolution up to the age of digitalisation.

It is observed that in the age of connectivity customer loyalty is expressed in terms of brand advocacy rather than repurchase, and that the customer path has been redefined. This seems pertinent because of the swift exchange of information that occurs among the online customer communities.

This paper identifies a need to provide a contemporary outlook to the customer path in the age of internet connectivity.