Alliance Survival: A Reconceptualization and Test of Constructs

Abstract

The alliance survival construct has been entangled in research on alliance performance and stability resulting in an incomplete and fragmented understanding. The lack of a clear conceptualization of alliance survival, and continued inherent assumption of survival as an objective, have led scholars to focus on antecedent identification for alliance exits. We use the term alliance exit to refer to the event of two organizations ending formal contractual collaborations and assert that the consequences of breakups for partner firms hold theoretical and practical relevance. We conceptualize and demarcate alliance exit through the examination of exit motives and modes present in the literature and empirical evidence on alliances in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. A mixed methods approach helps us build a conceptual framework that is further tested and operationalized. The model and findings confirm that exit is a function of a complex system that manifests in a multitude of exit motives and modes. The frameworks herein will guide future research to a more nuanced understanding of alliance survival that offers insights to practice contingent on exit conditions.