Alliance governance and product innovation project decision making

Purpose - The purpose of this exploratory study is explaining the effects of control and interdependence on decision making at the level of product innovation projects in dyadic strategic alliances. Design/methodology/approach - Drawing on alliance research, strategic decision‐making research and product innovation literature a conceptual framework is developed using a multiple case research methodology. Findings - The empirical case results indicate that decision‐making effectiveness in product innovation projects is dependent on the nature of the decision‐making process which, in turn, is affected by alliance governance structure characteristics. Research limitation/implications - The case research results only gives an in‐depth understanding of the nature of the effects. A large‐scale quantitative study is needed to arrive at generalizations taking into account industry‐specific and firm‐specific factors. Practical implications - Managers may want to take the effects on decision making into account when deciding on the alliance governance structure for a new product innovation project. Originality/value - This paper contributes to earlier research first, by viewing product innovation as a joint activity for which not only one organization is responsible, and second, by relating alliance governance structure to decision making beyond the strategic management level at the level of product innovation projects.