Do Firms Need Strategic Alliances?

Authors: Yun Mi, Ko, Hye Jung, Joo

Abstract:

This study develops a relation to explore the factors influencing management and technology capabilities in strategic alliances. Alliances between firms are recognizing increasingly popular as a vehicle to create and extract greater value from the market. Firm’s alliance can be described as the collaborative problem solving process to solve problems jointly. This study starts from research questions what factors of firm’s management and technology characteristics affect performance of firms which are formed alliances. In this study, we investigated the effect of strategic alliances on company performance. That is, we try to identify whether firms made an alliance with other organizations are differed by characteristics of management and technology. And we test that alliance type and alliance experiences moderate the relationship between firm’s capabilities and its performance. We employ problem-solving perspective and resource-based view perspective to shed light on this research questions. The empirical work is based on the Survey of Business Activities conducted from2006 to 2008 by Statistics Korea. We verify correlations between to point out that these results contribute new empirical evidence on the effect of strategic alliances on company performance.

Keywords: Problem solving process, strategic alliance.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1086539

References:

[1] B. Levitt and J. G. March (1988), Organizational Learning, Annual Review of Sociology, 14, pp.319-340.
[2] B. Wernerfelt (1984), A resource-based view of the firm, Strategic Management Journal, 5, pp.171-181.
[3] Choi (2011), How does knowledge breadth moderates alliance intensity on innovation performance? Master’s Thesis in Seoul National University.
[4] C.R. Yun (2002), A study of partner characteristics and governance structure in a strategic alliance on performance: focusing on venture firms in IT industry, Master’s Thesis, Ewha Womens University.
[5] Das. T. & Tang, B. (2000), A resource-based theory of strategic alliances, Journal of Management, 26. pp. 31-61.
[6] Dyer, J., & Singh, H. (1998), The rational view: Cooperative strategy and sources of interorganizational competitive advantage. Academy of Management Review, .23. pp.660-679.
[7] Gulati, R., Nohria, N. & Zaheer, A. (2000), Strategic networks, Strategic Management Journal, 21(3), 203-217.
[8] Heimeriks, K., & Duysters, G. (2007), Alliance capability as a mediator between experience and alliance performance: An empirical investigation into the alliance capability development process. Journal of Management Studies. 44(1).25-49.
[9] I. Nonaka, C.C. Borucki, P. Byosiere, N. Konno, Organizational knowledge creation theory: A first comprehensive test, International Business Review, 3, pp.337-351.
[10] J. Barney (1986), Strategic Factor Markets: Expectations, Luck, and Business Strategy, Management Science, 32(10), pp.1231-1241.
[11] J. Barney (1991), Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage, Journal of Management, 17(1), pp.99-120.
[12] J.C. Spender (1989), Industry Recipes, UK. Basil Blackwell.
[13] Kale, P., Dyer, J., & Singh, H. (2002), Alliance capability, stock market responses and long-term alliance success: The role of the alliance function. Strategic Management Journal, 23.217-237.
[14] K. R. Conner and C. K. Prahalad, A Resource-Based Theory of the Firm: Knowledge versus Opportunism, Organization Science, 7(5), pp.477-501.
[15] Lee, C., Lee, K. and Pennings, J. M. (2001), Internal capabilities, external networks and performance: A study on technology-based ventures, Strategic Management Journal, 22. 615-640.
[16] Nelson, R. R. and Winter, S. G. (1982), "An evolutionary theory of economic change", Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
[17] Nickerson and Zenger (2004), " A knowledge-based theory of the firm - the problem-solving perspective", Organization Science, 15(6).pp. 617-632.
[18] P. Porrini (2004), Can a previous alliance between an acquirer and a target affect acquisition performance?Journal of Management, 30(4). pp. 545-562.
[19] R. M. Grant (1986), Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm, 17, Strategic Management Journal, pp.109-122.
[20] Shan, W. G. Walker and B. Kougut (1994), Interfirm cooperation and startup innovation in the biotechnology industry, Strategic Management Journal, 15. pp. 627-642.
[21] Y.M. Ko and S.J. Bae (2013), Categorization of R&D Collaboration Based on Problem-Solving Perspective and its Implication, Korean Production and Operations Management, 24(2). pp. 149-171.
[22] Y.S. Park, Y.R. Park and J.M. Son (2006), Determinants of International Joint Venture`s Performance - An Organizational Learning Perspective -, International Business Journal, 17(2). pp.39-64.
[23] Williamson, O. (1987), The economic institutions of capitalism, Free press, New York.
[24] W.H. Greene (1997), Econometric analysis, New York: Macmillan, Third Edition.