Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-25wd4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-28T13:13:27.165Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

New ventures’ collaborative linkages and innovation performance: Exploring the role of distance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2017

María Teresa Bolívar–Ramos
María Teresa Bolívar–Ramos*
Affiliation:
Serra Húnter Professor, Business Department, Campus Bellaterra, School of Economics and Business, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
*
Corresponding author: mariateresa.bolivar@uab.cat
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In an era of globalization, new ventures have become especially active in collaborations with external partners worldwide to overcome the liability of newness and to obtain the resources required to innovate. In this context, this study conceptually analyzes how the geographical and institutional distances between a new venture and its international partners may influence the venture’s ability to benefit from broad external linkages for innovation purposes. It proposes that the interplay of these factors affects not only knowledge transfer, but also business relations. The study advances theory on international collaborative linkages and innovation, by providing a novel framework that explains how contextual factors associated with distance affect the relation between new ventures’ collaborations and their ability to develop innovations.

Keywords

collaborative linkagesinnovationnew venturesgeographical distanceinstitutional distance
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , January 2019 , pp. 26 - 41
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahuja, G. (2000). Collaboration networks, structural holes, and innovation: A longitudinal study. Administrative Science Quarterly, 45, 425–455.Google Scholar
Almeida, P., & Phene, A. (2004). Subsidiaries and knowledge creation: The influence of the MNC and host country on innovation. Strategic Management Journal, 25, 847–864.Google Scholar
Barney, J., Wright, M., & Ketchen, D. J. (2001). The resource-based view of the firm: Ten years after 1991. Journal of Management, 27(6), 625–641.Google Scholar
Baum, J. A., Calabrese, T., & Silverman, B. S. (2000). Don’t go it alone: Alliance network composition and startups’ performance in Canadian biotechnology. Strategic Management Journal, 21, 267–294.Google Scholar
Bell, G. G., & Zaheer, A. (2007). Geography, networks, and knowledge flow. Organization Science, 18, 955–972.Google Scholar
Ben Letaifa, S., & Rabeau, Y. (2013). Too close to collaborate? How geographic proximity could impede entrepreneurship and innovation. Journal of Business Research, 66, 2071–2078.Google Scholar
Berry, H., Guillén, M. F., & Zhou, N. (2010). An institutional approach to cross-national distance. Journal of International Business Studies, 41, 1460–1480.Google Scholar
Bessant, J., Lamming, R., Noke, H., & Phillips, W. (2005). Managing innovation beyond the steady state. Technovation, 25(12), 1366–1376.Google Scholar
Biggadike, R.E. (1979). The risky business of diversification. Harvard Business Review, 57, 103–111.Google Scholar
Boschma, R. (2005). Proximity and innovation: A critical assessment. Regional Studies, 39, 61–74.Google Scholar
Boso, N., Story, V. M., & Cadogan, J. W. (2013). Entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, network ties, and performance: Study of entrepreneurial firms in a developing economy. Journal of Business Venturing, 28(6), 708–727.Google Scholar
Burgers, W. P., Hill, C. W., & Kim, W. C. (1993). A theory of global strategic alliances: The case of the global auto industry. Strategic Management Journal, 14(6), 419–432.Google Scholar
Capaldo, A. (2007). Network structure and innovation: The leveraging of a dual network as a distinctive relational capability. Strategic Management Journal, 28(6), 585–608.Google Scholar
Capaldo, A., Lavie, D., & Petruzzelli, A. M. (2014). Knowledge maturity and the scientific value of innovations the roles of knowledge distance and adoption. Journal of Management, 43, 503–533.Google Scholar
Capaldo, A., & Messeni-Petruzzelli, A. M. (2014). Partner geographic and organizational proximity and the innovative performance of knowledge‐creating alliances. European Management Review, 11(1), 63–84.Google Scholar
Castellani, D., Jimenez, A., & Zanfei, A. (2013). How remote are R&D labs? Distance factors and international innovative activities. Journal of International Business Studies, 44, 649–675.Google Scholar
Colombo, M. G., Grilli, L., Murtinu, S., Piscitello, L., & Piva, E. (2009). Effects of international R&D alliances on performance of high‐tech start‐ups: A longitudinal analysis. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 3, 346–368.Google Scholar
Coombs, J. E., Deeds, D. L., & Ireland, R. D. (2009). Placing the choice between exploration and exploitation in context: A study of geography and new product development. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 3(3), 261–279.Google Scholar
Damanpour, F., & Gopalakrishnan, S. (2001). The dynamics of the adoption of product and process innovations in organizations. Journal of Management Studies, 38(1), 45–65.Google Scholar
Deeds, D. L., & Hill, C. W. (1996). Strategic alliances and the rate of new product development: An empirical study of entrepreneurial biotechnology firms. Journal of Business Venturing, 11, 41–55.Google Scholar
De Jong, J. P., & Freel, M. (2010). Absorptive capacity and the reach of collaboration in high technology small firms. Research Policy, 39(1), 47–54.Google Scholar
Dellestrand, H., & Kappen, P. (2012). The effects of spatial and contextual factors on headquarters resource allocation to MNE subsidiaries. Journal of International Business Studies, 43(3), 219–243.Google Scholar
Diestre, L., & Rajagopalan, N. (2012). Are all ‘sharks’ dangerous? New biotechnology ventures and partner selection in R&D alliances. Strategic Management Journal, 33, 1115–1134.Google Scholar
Eisenhardt, K. M., & Santos, F. M. (2002). Knowledge-based view: A new theory of strategy. Handbook of Strategy and Management, 1, 139–164.Google Scholar
Eisenhardt, K. M., & Schoonhoven, C. B. (1996). Resource-based view of strategic alliance formation: Strategic and social effects in entrepreneurial firms. Organization Science, 7(2), 136–150.Google Scholar
Ellis, P. D. (2006). Market orientation and performance: A meta‐analysis and cross‐national comparisons. Journal of Management Studies, 43(5), 1089–1107.Google Scholar
Fitjar, R. D., & Rodríguez-Pose, A. (2013). Firm collaboration and modes of innovation in Norway. Research Policy, 42(1), 128–138.Google Scholar
Ganesan, S., Malter, A. J., & Rindfleisch, A. (2005). Does distance still matter? Geographic proximity and new product development. Journal of Marketing, 69, 44–60.Google Scholar
Gaur, A. S., & Lu, J. W. (2007). Ownership strategies and survival of foreign subsidiaries: Impacts of institutional distance and experience. Journal of Management, 33, 84–110.Google Scholar
Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78, 1360–1380.Google Scholar
Grant, R. M. (1991). The resource-based theory of competitive advantage: Implications for strategy formulation. California Management Review, 33(3), 114–135.Google Scholar
Grant, R. M. (1996). Toward a knowledge‐based theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17, 109–122.Google Scholar
Gulati, R. (1995). Social structure and alliance formation patterns: A longitudinal analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40(4), 619–652.Google Scholar
Gulati, R., & Gargiulo, M. (1999). Where do interorganizational networks come from? American Journal of Sociology, 104, 177–231.Google Scholar
Gulati, R., Nohria, N., & Zaheer, A. (2000). Strategic networks. Strategic Management Journal, 21(3), 203–215.Google Scholar
Gulati, R., Wohlgezogen, F., & Zhelyazkov, P. (2012). The two facets of collaboration: Cooperation and coordination in strategic alliances. Academy of Management Annals, 6(1), 531–583.Google Scholar
Haeussler, C., Patzelt, H., & Zahra, S. A. (2012). Strategic alliances and product development in high technology new firms: The moderating effect of technological capabilities. Journal of Business Venturing, 27, 217–233.Google Scholar
Henderson, R. M., & Clark, K. B. (1990). Architectural innovation: The reconfiguration of existing product technologies and the failure of established firms. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35, 9–30.Google Scholar
Hong, W., & Yu-Sung., S. (2013). The effect of institutional proximity in non-local university–industry collaborations: An analysis based on Chinese patent data. Research Policy, 42(2), 454–464.Google Scholar
Huang, F., Rice, J., & Martin, N. (2015). Does open innovation apply to China? Exploring the contingent role of external knowledge sources and internal absorptive capacity in Chinese large firms and SMEs. Journal of Management & Organization, 21(5), 594–613.Google Scholar
Inkpen, A. C. (1998). Learning and knowledge acquisition through international strategic alliances. The Academy of Management Executive, 12(4), 69–80.Google Scholar
Jaffe, A., Trajtenberg, M., & Henderson, R. (1993). Geographic localization of knowledge spillovers as evidenced by patent citations. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 63, 577–598.Google Scholar
Jeong, S. (2014). Strategic collaboration of R&D entities for technology convergence: Exploring organizational differences within the triple helix. Journal of Management & Organization, 20(2), 227–249.Google Scholar
Kogut, B. (1988). Joint ventures: Theoretical and empirical perspectives. Strategic Management Journal, 9(4), 319–332.Google Scholar
Kogut, B., & Zander, U. (1992). Knowledge of the firm, combinative capabilities, and the replication of technology. Organization Science, 3, 383–397.Google Scholar
Kostova, T., & Roth, K. (2002). Adoption of an organizational practice by subsidiaries of multinational corporations: Institutional and relational effects. Academy of Management Journal, 45(1), 215–233.Google Scholar
Kostova, T., & Zaheer, S. (1999). Organizational legitimacy under conditions of complexity: The case of the multinational enterprise. Academy of Management Review, 24(1), 64–81.Google Scholar
Kotabe, M., & Swan, K. (1995). The role of strategic alliances in high‐technology new product development. Strategic Management Journal, 16, 621–636.Google Scholar
Lane, P. J., Salk, J. E., & Lyles, M. A. (2001). Absorptive capacity, learning, and performance in international joint ventures. Strategic Management Journal, 22, 1139–1161.Google Scholar
Leamer, E., & Storper, M. (2001). The economic geography of the internet age. Journal of International Business Studies, 32, 641–665.Google Scholar
Leung, R. C. (2013). Networks as sponges: International collaboration for developing nanomedicine in China. Research Policy, 42(1), 211–219.Google Scholar
Li, S., & Scullion, H. (2006). Bridging the distance: Managing cross-border knowledge holders. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 23, 71–92.Google Scholar
Madsen, T.K., & Servais, P. (1997). The internationalisation of born globals: An evolutionary process? International Business Review, 6(6), 561–583.Google Scholar
Mattes, J. (2012). Dimensions of proximity and knowledge bases: innovation between spatial and non-spatial factors. Regional Studies, 46(8), 1085–1099.Google Scholar
McDougall, P. P., & Oviatt, B. (1996). New venture internationalization, strategic change, and performance: A follow-up study. Journal of Business Venturing, 11(1), 23–40.Google Scholar
Milanov, H., & Fernhaber, S. A. (2009). The impact of early imprinting on the evolution of new venture networks. Journal of Business Venturing, 24(1), 46–61.Google Scholar
Miller, A., & Camp, B. (1986). Exploring determinants of success in corporate ventures. Journal of Business Venturing, 1(1), 87–105.Google Scholar
Nachum, L., Zaheer, S., & Gross, S. (2008). Does it matter where countries are? Proximity to knowledge, markets and resources, and MNE location choices. Management Science, 54, 1252–1265.Google Scholar
Nelson, R. (1993). National innovation systems: A comparative analysis. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Nelson, R. R., & Winter, S. G. (1982). An evolutionary theory of economic change. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Nielsen, B. B., & Nielsen, S. (2009). Learning and innovation in international strategic alliances: An empirical test of the role of trust and tacitness. Journal of Management Studies, 46, 1031–1056.Google Scholar
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ozmel, U., Reuer, J., & Gulati, R. (2012). Signals across multiple networks: How venture capital and alliance networks affect interorganizational collaboration. Academy of Management Journal, 56, 852–866.Google Scholar
Paniccia, I. (1998). One, a hundred, thousands of industrial districts. Organizational variety in local networks of small and medium-sized enterprises. Organization Studies, 19, 667–699.Google Scholar
Parida, V., & Westerberg, M. (2007). ICT related small firms with different collaborative network structures: Different species or variations on a theme. In D. Smallbone, H. Landström, & D. Jones-Evans (Eds.), Entrepreneurship and growth in local, regional and national economies in frontiers in European entrepreneurship research (pp. 254–280). Massachusetts, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing.Google Scholar
Parsons, T. (1960). Structure and process in modern society. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Patel, P. C., Fernhaber, S. A., McDougall‐Covin, P. P., & van der Have, R. P. (2014). Beating competitors to international markets: The value of geographically balanced networks for innovation. Strategic Management Journal, 35, 691–711.Google Scholar
Penrose, E. (2009). The theory of the growth of the firm (4th ed.), New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Phene, A., Fladmoe‐Lindquist, K., & Marsh, L. (2006). Breakthrough innovations in the US biotechnology industry: the effects of technological space and geographic origin. Strategic Management Journal, 27, 369–388.Google Scholar
Phillips, N., Lawrence, T. B., & Hardy, C. (2000). Inter‐organizational collaboration and the dynamics of institutional fields. Journal of Management Studies, 37, 23–43.Google Scholar
Ponds, R., Van Oort, F., & Frenken, K. (2007). The geographical and institutional proximity of research collaboration. Papers in Regional Science, 86, 423–443.Google Scholar
Powell, W. W. (1998). Learning from collaboration: Knowledge and networks in the bioteechnology and pharmaceutical industries. California Management Review, 40(3), 228–240.Google Scholar
Prashantham, S., & Young, S. (2011). Post‐entry speed of international new ventures. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 35(2), 275–292.Google Scholar
Ripollés, M., & Blesa, A. (2016). Development of inter-firm network management activities: The impact of industry, firm age and size. Journal of Management & Organization, 22, 186–204.Google Scholar
Ritter, T., & Gemünden, H. G. (2003). Network competence: Its impact on innovation success and its antecedents. Journal of Business Research, 56(9), 745–775.Google Scholar
Rosenkopf, L., & Almeida, P. (2003). Overcoming local search through alliances and mobility. Management Science, 49, 751–766.Google Scholar
Rosenkopf, L., & Schilling, M. A. (2007). Comparing alliance network structure across industries: observations and explanations. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(3–4), 191–209.Google Scholar
Rost, K. (2011). The strength of strong ties in the creation of innovation. Research Policy, 40(4), 588–604.Google Scholar
Rothaermel, F. T., & Deeds, D. L. (2004). Exploration and exploitation alliances in biotechnology: A system of new product development. Strategic Management Journal, 25, 201–221.Google Scholar
Sapienza, H. J., Autio, E., George, G., & Zahra, S. A. (2006). A capabilities perspective on the effects of early internationalization on firm survival and growth. Academy of Management Review, 31, 914–933.Google Scholar
Schilling, M.A., & Phelps, C.C. (2007). Interfirm collaboration networks. Management Science, 53(7), 1113–1126.Google Scholar
Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The theory of economic development: An inquiry into profits, capital, credit, interest, and the business cycle. Cambridge, MA: Harvard College.Google Scholar
Schumpeter, J. A. (1947). The creative response in economic history. The Journal of Economic History, 7(2), 149–159.Google Scholar
Scott, W. R. (1995). Introduction: Institutional theory and organizations. In W. R. Scott & S. Christensen (Eds.), The institutional construction of organizations: xi -xxiii. ThousandOaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Shan, W., Walker, G., & Kogut, B. (1994). Inter-firm cooperation and startup innovation in the biotechnology industry. Strategic Management Journal, 15, 387–394.Google Scholar
Shrader, R. C. (2001). Collaboration and performance in foreign markets: The case of young high-technology manufacturing firms. Academy of Management journal, 44(1), 45–60.Google Scholar
Stuart, T. E. (2000). Interorganizational alliances and the performance of firms: A study of growth and innovation rates in a high-technology industry. Strategic Management Journal, 21(8), 791–811.Google Scholar
Subramaniam, M., & Venkatraman, N. (2001). Determinants of transnational new product development capability: Testing the influence of transferring and deploying tacit overseas knowledge. Strategic Management Journal, 22, 359–378.Google Scholar
Sullivan Mort, G., & Weerawardena, J. (2006). Networking capability and international entrepreneurship: How networks function in Australian born global firms. International Marketing Review, 23(5), 549–572.Google Scholar
Teece, D. J. (1986). Profiting from technological innovation: Implications for integration, collaboration, licensing and public policy. Research Policy, 15(6), 285–305.Google Scholar
Tomlinson, P. R. (2010). Co-operative ties and innovation: Some new evidence for UK manufacturing. Research Policy, 39(6), 762–775.Google Scholar
Vasudeva, G., Zaheer, A., & Hernandez, E. (2013). The embeddedness of networks: Institutions, structural holes, and innovativeness in the fuel cell industry. Organization Science, 24, 645–663.Google Scholar
Wu, H. (2015). The role of external knowledge search in firms’ innovation performance: Evidence from China. In E. Qi, J. Shen & R. Dou (Eds.), Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management 2014 (pp. 529–533). Paris: Atlantis Press.Google Scholar
Wu, J. (2012). Technological collaboration in product innovation: The role of market competition and sectoral technological intensity. Research Policy, 41, 489–496.Google Scholar
Zaheer, S., Schomaker, M. S., & Nachum, L. (2012). Distance without direction: Restoring credibility to a much-loved construct. Journal of International Business Studies, 43, 18–27.Google Scholar
Zhang, Y., & Li, H. (2010). Innovation search of new ventures in a technology cluster: the role of ties with service intermediaries. Strategic Management Journal, 31, 88–109.Google Scholar
Zahra, S. A. (1996). Technology strategy and new ventures performance: A study of corporate-sponsored and independent biotechnology ventures. Journal of Business Venturing, 11, 289–321.Google Scholar
Zahra, S. A. (2005). A theory of international new ventures: a decade of research. Journal of International Business Studies, 36, 20–28.Google Scholar
Zahra, S. A., & George, G. (2002). Absorptive capacity: A review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Review, 27, 185–203.Google Scholar
Zakrzewska-Bielawska, A. (2016). Perceived mutual impact of strategy and organizational structure: Findings from the high-technology enterprises. Journal of Management & Organization, 22, 599–622.Google Scholar