---
id: "action-acquire-for-interdependence"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§ Strategies for Pursuing Ecosystem Synergies"]
tags: ["managers", "target-selection"]
related: ["claim-interdependence-attracts-developers", "framework-strategies-pursuing-synergies"]
action: "Target acquisitions that increase the interdependence and seamlessness of your existing product suite."
outcome: "Boosted internal efficiency and increased attractiveness to third-party developers."
audience: "Managers / Acquirers"
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/when-evaluating-an-ma-opportunity-consider-the-broader-digital-ecosystem"
source_title: "When Evaluating an M&A Opportunity, Consider the Broader Digital Ecosystem"
sources: ["ecosystem"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-ecosystem"
originDay: 11
articleStem: "hbr-cl-80-ma-digital-ecosystem"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/when-evaluating-an-ma-opportunity-consider-the-broader-digital-ecosystem"
sourceTitle: "When Evaluating an M&A Opportunity, Consider the Broader Digital Ecosystem"
---
# Acquire to Increase Component Interdependence

**Action:** Target acquisitions that increase the interdependence and seamlessness of your existing product suite.
**Owner:** Managers / Acquirers · **Outcome:** Boosted internal efficiency and increased attractiveness to third-party developers.

When selecting M&A targets, prioritize companies whose products will make your existing suite work together **more seamlessly**. This strategy not only improves internal operational efficiency but acts as a **magnet for third-party developers** ([[concept-complementors]]), who are drawn to highly interdependent and cohesive product suites — the mechanism established in [[claim-interdependence-attracts-developers]] and heuristic #1 of [[framework-strategies-pursuing-synergies]].