Asymmetric Knowledge Transfer in R&D Alliances

Abstract

This study examines the influence of firm and partnership characteristics on asymmetric knowledge transfer in R&D alliances ? the situation of imbalanced interorganizational learning in interfirm partnerships. Past literature on interfirm learning has either discussed cumulative knowledge flows in alliances, while ignoring their potential uneven distribution, or considered factors improving knowledge inflows while overlooking their effects on outflows. Yet, we argue that alliance partners are more concerned about the ratio of knowledge inflows to outflows. Perceiving an R&D alliance as a simultaneous collaboration and learning competition, managers aim to maximize inflows while minimizing outflows. We argue that differences in firm characteristics, technological resources, and alliance experience between two alliance partners influence one?s capability to learn more from its partner firm than vice versa. In addition, these effects will be stronger if an alliance involves the creation of a joint venture. We test our hypotheses on a dataset of 989 R&D alliances formed by North-American manufacturing firms between 1985 and 2000. The results indicate that a higher technological diversity and more slack resources increase net learning benefits while a larger relative firm size has an opposite effect. However, this effect reverses when an alliance is structured as a joint venture.