IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unm/unumer/2007033.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Determinants of alliance portfolio complexity and its effect on innovative performance of companies

Author

Listed:
  • Duysters, Geert

    (UNU-MERIT)

  • Lokshin, Boris

    (UNU-MERIT)

Abstract

Alliance formation is often described as a mechanism used by firms to increase voluntary knowledge transfers. Access to external knowledge has been increasingly recognized as a main source of a firm's innovativeness. In this paper we examine decisions to form alliance portfolios of foreign and domestic partners by three groups of firms: innovators (firms that are successful in introducing new products to the market), imitators (firms that are successful at introducing new products, which are not new to the market) and product non-innovators. We consider an alliance portfolio that includes different partnership types (competitor, customer, supplier, university/research center). We develop a measure of portfolio complexity which we define as the number and diversity of elements of the alliance portfolio with which a firm must interact. We then estimate models that explain portfolio complexity and its impact on firm's innovative performance. Using panel data on more than 1800 firms in the Netherlands we find that foremost innovators have a strong propensity to form portfolios consisting of international alliances. Being an innovator or imitator also increases the propensity to form a portfolio of domestic alliances, relative to non-innovators; but this propensity is not stronger for innovators. Innovators appear to derive benefit from both intensive (exploitative) and broad (explorative) use of external information sources. The former sourcing is more important for innovators, while the latter for imitators. Finally, alliance complexity is found to have an inverse U-shape relationship to innovative performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Duysters, Geert & Lokshin, Boris, 2007. "Determinants of alliance portfolio complexity and its effect on innovative performance of companies," MERIT Working Papers 2007-033, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2007033
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/wppdf/2007/wp2007-033.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    2. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Productivity and R&D at the Firm Level," NBER Chapters, in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 100-133, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Joel A. C. Baum & Tony Calabrese & Brian S. Silverman, 2000. "Don't go it alone: alliance network composition and startups' performance in Canadian biotechnology," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 267-294, March.
    4. Brian J. Aitken & Ann E. Harrison, 2022. "Do Domestic Firms Benefit from Direct Foreign Investment? Evidence from Venezuela," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 6, pages 139-152, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    5. John Van Reenen & Rupert Harrison & Rachel Griffith, 2006. "How Special Is the Special Relationship? Using the Impact of U.S. R&D Spillovers on U.K. Firms as a Test of Technology Sourcing," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(5), pages 1859-1875, December.
    6. Manuel Trajtenberg, 1990. "A Penny for Your Quotes: Patent Citations and the Value of Innovations," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 21(1), pages 172-187, Spring.
    7. Zvi Griliches, 1984. "R&D, Patents, and Productivity," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number gril84-1, May.
    8. Kulwant Singh & Will Mitchell, 2005. "Growth dynamics: the bidirectional relationship between interfirm collaboration and business sales in entrant and incumbent alliances," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(6), pages 497-521, June.
    9. Huang, Can & Soete, Luc, 2007. "The Global Challenges of the Knowledge Economy: China and the EU," MERIT Working Papers 2007-028, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    10. Wim Vanhaverbeke & Geert Duysters & Niels Noorderhaven, 2002. "External Technology Sourcing Through Alliances or Acquisitions: An Analysis of the Application-Specific Integrated Circuits Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(6), pages 714-733, December.
    11. Tether, Bruce S., 2002. "Who co-operates for innovation, and why: An empirical analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 947-967, August.
    12. Gordon Walker & Bruce Kogut & Weijian Shan, 1997. "Social Capital, Structural Holes and the Formation of an Industry Network," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 8(2), pages 109-125, April.
    13. Cohen, Wesley M & Klepper, Steven, 1996. "A Reprise of Size and R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 925-951, July.
    14. Eaton, Jonathan & Kortum, Samuel, 1996. "Trade in ideas Patenting and productivity in the OECD," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(3-4), pages 251-278, May.
    15. Partha Deb & Pravin K. Trivedi, 2006. "Specification and simulated likelihood estimation of a non-normal treatment-outcome model with selection: Application to health care utilization," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 9(2), pages 307-331, July.
    16. Duysters, Geert & Vanhaverbeke, Wim, 1996. "Strategic interactions in DRAM and RISC technology: A network approach," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 437-461, December.
    17. Freeman, C., 1991. "Networks of innovators: A synthesis of research issues," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 499-514, October.
    18. Zvi Griliches, 1984. "Introduction to "R & D, Patents, and Productivity"," NBER Chapters, in: R&D, Patents, and Productivity, pages 1-20, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Belderbos, Rene & Carree, Martin & Lokshin, Boris, 2004. "Cooperative R&D and firm performance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1477-1492, December.
    20. Miotti, Luis & Sachwald, Frederique, 2003. "Co-operative R&D: why and with whom?: An integrated framework of analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1481-1499, September.
    21. Bruno Van Pottelsberghe De La Potterie & Frank Lichtenberg, 2001. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Transfer Technology Across Borders?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(3), pages 490-497, August.
    22. Bruno Cassiman & Reinhilde Veugelers, 2002. "R&D Cooperation and Spillovers: Some Empirical Evidence from Belgium," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(4), pages 1169-1184, September.
    23. Gautam Ahuja & Curba Morris Lampert, 2001. "Entrepreneurship in the large corporation: a longitudinal study of how established firms create breakthrough inventions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 521-543, June.
    24. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    25. Prashant Kale & Harbir Singh & Howard Perlmutter, 2000. "Learning and protection of proprietary assets in strategic alliances: building relational capital," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 217-237, March.
    26. Hau L. Lee & V. Padmanabhan & Seungjin Whang, 1997. "Information Distortion in a Supply Chain: The Bullwhip Effect," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(4), pages 546-558, April.
    27. Cohen, Wesley M & Malerba, Franco, 2001. "Is the Tendency to Variation a Chief Cause of Progress?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 10(3), pages 587-608, September.
    28. Henrik Bresman & Julian Birkinshaw & Robert Nobel, 1999. "Knowledge Transfer in International Acquisitions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(3), pages 439-462, September.
    29. Milgrom, Paul & Roberts, John, 1990. "The Economics of Modern Manufacturing: Technology, Strategy, and Organization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(3), pages 511-528, June.
    30. Levin, Richard C, 1988. "Appropriability, R&D Spending, and Technological Performance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(2), pages 424-428, May.
    31. Rothaermel, Frank T. & Deeds, David L., 2006. "Alliance type, alliance experience and alliance management capability in high-technology ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 429-460, July.
    32. Eaton, Jonathan & Kortum, Samuel, 1999. "International Technology Diffusion: Theory and Measurement," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 40(3), pages 537-570, August.
    33. Dovev Lavie, 2007. "Alliance portfolios and firm performance: A study of value creation and appropriation in the U.S. software industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(12), pages 1187-1212, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Spyros Arvanitis, 2009. "How do different motives for R&D cooperation affect firm performance?," KOF Working papers 09-233, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    2. Belderbos, Rene & Gilsing, Victor & Jacob, Jojo, 2011. "Technology alliances in emerging economies: Persistence and interrelation in European firms' alliance formation," MERIT Working Papers 2011-026, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    3. Lokshin, Boris & Hagedoorn, John & Letterie, Wilko, 2011. "The bumpy road of technology partnerships: Understanding causes and consequences of partnership mal-functioning," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 297-308, March.
    4. Karbowski, Adam, 2016. "Współpraca badawczo-rozwojowa przedsiębiorstw: przegląd prac empirycznych [R&D Cooperation of Firms: Empirical literature review]," MPRA Paper 77698, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Duysters, Geert & Saebi, Tina & Dong, Qinqin, 2007. "Strategic Partnering with Chinese Companies: Hidden Motives and Treasures," MERIT Working Papers 2007-034, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    6. Abiodun A. Egbetokun, 2012. "Cooperation behaviour and innovation performance in the Nigerian manufacturing industry," Jena Economics Research Papers 2012-037, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    7. Mireia Fernández-Ardevol & Josep Lladós Masllorens, 2011. "Determinants of Science-Based Cooperation: Evidence in a Sample of Small and Micro Firms," Managing Global Transitions, University of Primorska, Faculty of Management Koper, vol. 9(4 (Winter), pages 319-333.
    8. Fernández-Esquinas, Manuel & Pinto, Hugo & Yruela, Manuel Pérez & Pereira, Tiago Santos, 2016. "Tracing the flows of knowledge transfer: Latent dimensions and determinants of university–industry interactions in peripheral innovation systems," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 113(PB), pages 266-279.
    9. Luca Pennacchio & Giuseppe Piroli & Otello Ardovino, 2018. "The Role of R&D Cooperation in Firm Innovation," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(01), pages 1-27, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cohen, Wesley M., 2010. "Fifty Years of Empirical Studies of Innovative Activity and Performance," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 129-213, Elsevier.
    2. Lokshin, Boris & Hagedoorn, John & Letterie, Wilko, 2011. "The bumpy road of technology partnerships: Understanding causes and consequences of partnership mal-functioning," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 297-308, March.
    3. Vanhaverbeke, W.P.M. & Beerkens, B.E. & Duysters, G.M., 2003. "Explorative and exploitative learning strategies in technology-based alliance networks," Working Papers 03.22, Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies.
    4. Golonka, Monika, 2015. "Proactive cooperation with strangers: Enhancing complexity of the ICT firms' alliance portfolio and their innovativeness," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 168-178.
    5. Belderbos, Rene & Gilsing, Victor & Lokshin, Boris, 2009. "Persistence of and interrelation between horizontal and vertical technology alliances," MERIT Working Papers 2009-065, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    6. Vanhaverbeke, W. & Beerkens, B. & Duysters, G., 2001. "Technological capability building through networking strategies within high-tech industries," Working Papers 01.15, Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies.
    7. Duysters, Geert & Vanhaverbeke, Wim & Beerkens, Bonnie & Gilsing, Victor, 2007. "Exploration and Exploitation in Technology-based Alliance Networks," MERIT Working Papers 2007-020, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    8. Suk Choi & Christopher Williams, 2014. "The impact of innovation intensity, scope, and spillovers on sales growth in Chinese firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 25-46, March.
    9. Hagedoorn, John & Wang, Ning, 2012. "Is there complementarity or substitutability between internal and external R&D strategies?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1072-1083.
    10. Gkypali, Areti & Arvanitis, Spyros & Tsekouras, Kostas, 2018. "Absorptive capacity, exporting activities, innovation openness and innovation performance: A SEM approach towards a unifying framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 143-155.
    11. Jacob, Jojo & Belderbos, René & Lokshin, Boris, 2023. "Entangled modes: Boundaries to effective international knowledge sourcing through technology alliances and technology-based acquisitions," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    12. Wilfried Zidorn & Marcus Wagner, 2012. "Too Much of a Good Thing: The Role of Alliance Portfolio Diversity for Innovation Output in the Biotechnology Industry," DRUID Working Papers 12-10, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    13. Gilsing, Victor & Nooteboom, Bart & Vanhaverbeke, Wim & Duysters, Geert & van den Oord, Ad, 2008. "Network embeddedness and the exploration of novel technologies: Technological distance, betweenness centrality and density," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 1717-1731, December.
    14. Spyros Arvanitis & Areti Gkypali & Kostas Tsekouras, 2014. "Knowledge Base, Exporting Activities, Innovation Openness and Innovation Performance," KOF Working papers 14-361, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    15. Martha Torres-Barreto & Marianela Luzardo Briceño & Mileidy Alvarez-Melgarejo, 2018. "The R&D funding scenario: Can capabilities foster product innovation of firms? El escenario de financiación de I + D: ¿pueden las capacidades fomentar la innovación de productos de las empresas? [E," Working Papers hal-01867121, HAL.
    16. Marcus Wagner & Wilfried Zidorn, 2017. "Effects of extent and diversity of alliancing on innovation: the moderating role of firm newness," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 919-936, December.
    17. Hussinger, Katrin & Wastyn, Annelies, 2011. "In search for the not-invented-here syndrome: The role of knowledge sources and firm success," ZEW Discussion Papers 11-048, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    18. Erika Raquel Badillo & Rosina Moreno, 2014. "“Are R&D collaborative agreements persistent at the firm level? Empirical evidence for the Spanish case”," IREA Working Papers 201410, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Mar 2014.
    19. Wim Vanhaverbeke & Victor Gilsing & Bonnie Beerkens & Geert Duysters, 2009. "The Role of Alliance Network Redundancy in the Creation of Core and Non‐core Technologies," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 215-244, March.
    20. Qin Yang, 2018. "Geographical Diversity of Alliance Portfolio and Firm Innovation: The Roles of Resource Characteristics and Governance Structures," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(06), pages 1-22, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovation; R&D cooperation; Alliance portfolio;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • P13 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Cooperative Enterprises
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2007033. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ad Notten (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/meritnl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.