Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-r5zm4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-21T23:49:38.621Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The role of strategic alliances in complementing firm capabilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

John Rice ,
Tung-Shan Liao ,
Nigel Martin  and
Peter Galvin
John Rice
Affiliation:
Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
Tung-Shan Liao
Affiliation:
Yuan Ze University, Chungli City, Taoyuan, Taiwan
Nigel Martin
Affiliation:
The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Peter Galvin
Affiliation:
Northumbria University, Newcastle, England, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Strategic alliance research emerged to explain alliance formation based upon transaction cost minimisation and opportunism reduction. Later research, and early research from Japan, emphasised the role of alliances in facilitating the transfer of knowledge between organisations. Most recently, alliance research has focussed on the development of shared, potentially idiosyncratic, resource stocks. This paper builds on this recent research, testing the proposition that alliances are important vehicles allowing firms to access or acquire external resources, hence shoring up capability gaps and building new capabilities as required during firm, product and industry life cycles. Using a sample from Australian manufacturing small-and-medium-sized enterprises, the paper reveals that alliances employed by firms can be viewed as initiatives to either fill a gap in the firm's resource stock or to exploit a perceived opportunity in its operational and strategic environment.

Keywords

strategic alliancesresource based viewcontingencyknowledge searchrisk aversionefficiency seeking
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 18 , Issue 6 , November 2012 , pp. 858 - 869
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2012

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

Agarwal, R., Croson, R., & Mahoney, J. (2010). The role of incentives and communication in strategic alliances: An experimental investigation. Strategic Management Journal, 31(4), 413–437.Google Scholar
Agarwal, R., & Selen, W. (2009). Dynamic capability building in service value networks for achieving service innovation. Decision Sciences, 40(3), 431–475.Google Scholar
Aldrich, H., & Fiol, C. (1994). Fools rush in? The institutional context of industry creation. Academy of Management Review, 19(4), 645–670.Google Scholar
Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D.W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411–423.Google Scholar
Ariño, A., de la Torre, J. & Ring, P. S. (2005). Relational quality and inter-personal trust in strategic alliances. European Management Review, 2, 15–27.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2000). Business longitudinal survey: Confidentialised Unit Record File 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98 (No. 8141.0.30.001). Canberra, ACT: Author.Google Scholar
Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16(1), 74–94.Google Scholar
Balakrishnan, S., & Wernerfelt, B. (1986). Technical change, competition and vertical integration. Strategic Management Journal, 7, 347–359.Google Scholar
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120.Google Scholar
Barney, J. (1996). The resource-based theory of the firm. Organization Science, 7, 469–469.Google Scholar
Brandenburger, A. M., & Nalebuff, B. J. (1996). Coopetition. New York, NY: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Capron, L., & Mitchell, W. (2004). Where firms change: Internal development versus external capability sourcing in the global telecommunications industry. European Management Review, 1(2), 157–174.Google Scholar
Cho, I., Park, H., & Choi, J. (2011). The impact of diversity of innovation channels on innovation performance in service firms. Service Business, 5(3), 277–294.Google Scholar
Coriat, B., & Dosi, G. (2002). The nature and accumulation of organizational competences/capabilities. Revista Brasileira Inovacao, 1(2), 275–320.Google Scholar
Dunn, S. C., Seaker, R. F., & Waller, M. A. (1994). Latent variables in business logistics research: Scale development and validation. Journal of Business Logistics, 15(2), 145–172.Google Scholar
Dussauge, P., Garrette, B., & Mitchell, W. (2000). Learning from competing partners: Outcomes and durations of scale and link alliances in Europe, North America and Asia. Strategic Management Journal, 21, 99–126.Google Scholar
Dyer, J. H., & Singh, H. (1998). The relational view: Cooperative strategy and sources of interorganizational competitive advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(4), 660–679.Google Scholar
Eisenhardt, K. M., & Martin, J. A. (2000). Dynamic capabilities: What are they? Strategic Management Journal, 21(2), 1105–1121.Google Scholar
Faems, D., Van Looy, B., & Debackere, K. (2005). Interorganizational collaboration and Innovation: Towards a portfolio approach. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 22(3), 238–250.Google Scholar
Flatten, T. C., Greve, G. I., & Brettel, M. (2011). Absorptive capacity and firm performance in SMEs: The mediating influence of strategic alliances. European Management Review, 8(3), 137–152.Google Scholar
Fornell, C., Johnson, M., Anderson, E. W., Cha, J., & Everitt-Bryant, B. (1996) The American customer satisfaction index: Nature, purpose, and findings, Journal of Marketing, 60, 7–18.Google Scholar
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981) Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.Google Scholar
Galvin, P., & Rice, J. (2008) Information structures in the mobile telephone industry: A case study of knowledge protection and diffusion for innovation. International Journal of Technology Management, 42(4), 426–438.Google Scholar
García-Pont, C. (1992). Strategic linkages within an industry: The emergence of strategic blocks. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Google Scholar
Gay, B., & Dousset, B. (2005). Innovation and network structural dynamics: Study of the alliance network of a major sector of the biotechnology industry. Research Policy, 34, 1457–1475.Google Scholar
Giannopoulou, E., Yström, A., & Ollila, S. (2011). Turning open innovation into practice: Open innovation research through the lens of managers. International Journal of Innovation Management, 15(3), 505–524.Google Scholar
Glaister, K. W., & Buckley, P. J. (1996). Strategic motives for international alliance formation. Journal of Management Studies, 33(3), 301–332.Google Scholar
Gnyawali, D. R., He, J., & Madhavan, R. (2006). Impact of co-opetition on firm competitive behavior: An empirical examination. Journal of Management, 32, 507–530.Google Scholar
Gomes-Casseres, B., Jaffe, A., & Hagedoorn, J. (2006). Do alliances promote knowledge flows? Journal of Financial Economics, 80(1), 5–33.Google Scholar
Grant, R. M., & Baden-Fuller, C. (2004). A knowledge accessing theory of strategic alliances. Journal of Management Studies, 41(1), 61–84.Google Scholar
Gresov, C., & Drazin, R. (1997). Equifinality: Functional equivalence in organization design. Academy of Management Review, 22, 403–428.Google Scholar
Gupta, A. K., Smith, K. G., & Shalley, C. E. (2006). The interplay between exploration and exploitation. Academy of Management Journal, 49(4), 693–706.Google Scholar
Hagedoorn, J., & Duysters, G. M. (2002). Learning in dynamic inter-firm networks — The efficacy of multiple contacts. Organization Studies, 23, 525–548.Google Scholar
Harrigan, K. R. (1988). Strategic alliance and partner asymmetries. Management International Review, 9, 53–72.Google Scholar
Hennart, J. F. (2007). The theoretical rationale for a multinationality–performance relationship. Management International Review, 47, 423–452.Google Scholar
Horst, T. (1972). Firm and industry determinants of the decision to invest abroad: An empirical study. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 54, 258–266.Google Scholar
Hu, J., & Hsu, Y. (2008). The more interactive, the more innovative? A case study of South Korean Cellular phone manufacturers. Technovation, 28(1–2), 75–87.Google Scholar
Huang, F., & Rice, J. (2009). The role of absorptive capacity in facilitating open innovation outcomes. International Journal of Innovation Management, 13(3), 201–220.Google Scholar
Huang, F., & Rice, J. (2012). Openness in product and process innovation. International Journal of Innovation Management, 16(4), 1–24.Google Scholar
Hynes, N., & Wilson, J. (2012). Co-evolutionary dynamics in strategic alliances: The influence of the industry lifecycle. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 79(6), 1169–1175.Google Scholar
Inkpen, A. C., & Tsang, E. W. K. (2007). Learning and Strategic Alliances. The Academy of Management Annals, 1, 479–511.Google Scholar
Jacoby, J., & Matell, M. (1971). Three point Likert scales are good enough. Journal of Marketing Research, 8, 495–500.Google Scholar
Janowicz-Panjaitan, M., & Noorderhaven, N. (2008). Formal and informal interorganizational learning within strategic alliances. Research Policy, 37, 1337–1355.Google Scholar
Jöreskog, K. G., & Goldberger, A. S. (1975). Estimation of a model with multiple indicators and multiple causes of a single latent variable. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 70(351), 631–639.Google Scholar
Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (1989). LISREL 7: A guide to the program and applications. Chicago, IL: SPSS.Google Scholar
Joskow, P. L. (1987). Contract duration and relationship-specific investments: Empirical evidence from coal markets. The American Economic Review, 77, 168–185.Google Scholar
Kale, P., Singh, H., & Perlmutter, H. (2000). Learning and protection of proprietary assets in strategic alliances: Building relational capital. Strategic Management Journal, 21, 217–237.Google Scholar
Katila, R., Rosenberger, J., & Eisenhardt, K. (2008). Swimming with sharks: Technology ventures, defense mechanisms and corporate relationships. Administrative Science Quarterly, 53, 295–332.Google Scholar
Katz, L. F. (1986). Efficiency wage theories: A partial evaluation. NBER Macroeconomics Annual, 1, 235–276.Google Scholar
Khanna, T., Gulati, R., & Nohria, N. (1998). The dynamics of learning alliances: Competition, cooperation, and relative scope. Strategic Management Journal, 19, 193–210.Google Scholar
Koka, B., & Prescott, J. (2008). Designing alliance networks: The interacting effects of environmental change and firm strategy on alliance performance. Strategic Management Journal, 29(6), 639–661.Google Scholar
Koka, B. R., & Prescott, J. E. (2002). Strategic alliances as social capital: A multidimensional view. Strategic Management Journal, 23, 795–816.Google Scholar
Lavie, D. (2007). Alliance portfolios and firm performance: A study of value creation and appropriation in the US software industry. Strategic Management Journal, 28(12), 1187–1212.Google Scholar
Lehmann, D., & Hulbert, J. (1972). Are three-point scales always good enough? Journal of Marketing Research, 9, 444–446.Google Scholar
Lei, D., Slocum, J. W., & Pitts, R. A. (1997). Building cooperative advantage: Managing strategic alliances to promote organizational learning. Journal of World Business, 32, 203–223.Google Scholar
Li, J., & Guisinger, S. (1992). The globalization of service multinationals in the ‘Triad’ regions: Japan, Western Europe and North America. Journal of International Business Studies, 23, 675–696.Google Scholar
Liao, T. S., & Rice, J. (2010). Innovation investments, market engagement and financial performance: A study among Australian manufacturing SMEs. Research Policy, 39(2), 117–125.Google Scholar
Lindsley, D. H., Brass, D. J., & Thomas, J. B. (1995). Efficacy-performance spirals: A multilevel perspective. Academy of Management Review, 20, 645–678.Google Scholar
Long, J. S. (1986). Covanance structure models an introduction to LISREL series quantitative applications in the social sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Madhok, A. (1996). The organization of economic activity: Transaction costs, firm capabilities, and the nature of governance. Organization Science, 7, 577–590.Google Scholar
March, J. G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2, 71–87.Google Scholar
Mowery, D. C., Oxley, J. E., & Silverman, B. (1996). Strategic alliances and interfirm knowledge transfer. Strategic Management Journal, 17, 77–91.Google Scholar
Mudambi, S., & Tallman, S. (2010). Make, buy or ally? theoretical perspectives on knowledge process outsourcing through alliances. Journal of Management Studies, 47(8), 1434–1456.Google Scholar
Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital and the organisational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(2), 242–266.Google Scholar
Nohria, N., & García-Pont, C. (1991). Global strategic linkages and industry structure. Global Strategy, 15, 105–124.Google Scholar
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.), New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Oxley, J. E. (1997). Appropriability hazards and governance in strategic alliances: A transaction cost approach. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 13, 387–409.Google Scholar
Park, S. H., & Zhou, D. (2005). Firm heterogeneity and competitive dynamics in alliance formation. Academy of Management Review, 30(3), 531–54.Google Scholar
Peltoniemi, M. (2011). Reviewing industry life-cycle theory: Avenues for future research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 13(4), 349–375.Google Scholar
Poppo, L., & Zenger, T. (1998). Testing alternative theories of the firm: Transaction cost, knowledge-based, and measurement explanations for make-or-buy decisions in information services. Strategic Management Journal, 19, 853–877.Google Scholar
Powell, W. W., Koput, K. W., & Smith-Doerr, L. (1996). Interorganizational collaboration and the locus of innovation: Networks of learning in Biotechnology. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41, 116–145.Google Scholar
Puranam, P., Singh, H., & Chaudhuri, S. (2009). Integrating acquired capabilities: When structural integration is (un) necessary. Organization Science, 20(2), 313–328.Google Scholar
Rahman, N., & Korn, H. (2009). Fit between corporate strategy and alliance purpose: Implications on partnering firms' performance. International Journal of Strategic Business Alliances, 1(2), 132–149.Google Scholar
Rice, J., & Galvin, P. (2006). Alliance patterns during industry life cycle emergence: The case of Ericsson and Nokia. Technovation, 26(3), 384–395.Google Scholar
Roper, S., & Hewitt-Dundas, N. (2008). Innovation persistence: Survey and case-study evidence, Research Policy, 37(1), 149–162.Google Scholar
Rothaermel, F., & Deeds, D. (2004). Exploration and exploitation alliances in biotechnology: A system of new product development, Strategic Management Journal, 25(2), 201–221.Google Scholar
Sakakibara, M., & Cho, D-S. (2002). Cooperative R&D in Japan and Korea: A comparison of industrial policy. Research Policy, 31(5), 673–692.Google Scholar
Sakakibara, M., & Dodgson, M. (2003). Strategic research partnerships: Empirical evidence from Asia. Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, 15(2), 228–245.Google Scholar
Sampson, R. C. (2007). R&D alliances and firm performance: The impact of technological diversity and alliance organization on innovation. Academy of Management, 50, 364–386.Google Scholar
Schleimer, S., & Shulman, A. (2011a). The role of collaboration for innovation — Explaining configurations of collaboration in new service versus new product development. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 28(4), 521–35.Google Scholar
Schleimer, S., & Shulman, A. (2011b). When intra-firm and inter-firm collaborations co-occur: Comparing their impact across different innovation contexts. International Journal of Innovation Management, 15(5), 869–98.Google Scholar
Silverman, B. S., & Baum, J. A. C. (2002). Alliancebased competitive dynamics. Academy of Management Journal, 45, 791–806.Google Scholar
Steffens, P., Davidsson, P., & Fitzsimmons, J. (2009). Performance configurations over time: Implications for growth- and profit-oriented strategies. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 33(1), 125–148.Google Scholar
Street, C., & Cameron, A. (2007). External relationships and the small business: A review of small business alliance and network research. Journal of Small Business Management, 45(2), 239–266.Google Scholar
Teece, D. J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: The nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28, 1319–1350.Google Scholar
Teng, B. S. (2007). Corporate entrepreneurship activities through strategic alliances: A resource-based approach toward competitive advantage. Journal of Management Studies, 44(1), 119–142.Google Scholar
Van de Ven, A. H. (1976). On the nature, formation, and maintenance of relations among organizations. Academy of Management Review, 1, 24–36.Google Scholar
Vermeulen, F., & Barkema, H. (2001). Learning through acquisitions. Academy of Management Journal, 44(3), 457–476.Google Scholar
Waddock, S. A. (1991). A typology of social partnership organizations. Administration & Society, 22, 480–515.Google Scholar
Williamson, O. E. (1975). Markets and Hierarchies: Analysis and Antitrust Implications. New York, NY: Free Press.Google Scholar
Williamson, O. E. (1979). Transaction-cost economics: The governance of contractual relations. The Journal of Law and Economics, 22, 233–261.Google Scholar
Williamson, O. E. (1985). The economic institutions of capitalism. New York, NY: Free Press.Google Scholar