Learning Beyond Technology: When do R&D Alliances Foster Organizational Innovation?

Abstract

We continue to witness the growing importance of R&D alliances, mainly in the pursuit of technological innovation. In parallel, we are witnessing firms’ efforts to constantly alter their internal practices and routines in order to enhance competitiveness. Yet relatively little is known about whether and how R&D alliances influence a firm’s organizational routines and practices by triggering organizational innovation (OI). We draw on panel data from the Mannheim Innovation Panel to examine how different types of (international and domestic) R&D alliances affect a firm’s propensity to engage in OI. Our findings show a nuanced relationship between R&D alliances and OI, in that: firms with a diverse international R&D alliance portfolio are not significantly more likely to engage in OI efforts; firms with vertical international R&D alliances (i.e., alliances with customers and suppliers) are more likely to engage in OI; and firms with horizontal international R&D alliances (i.e., alliances with market rivals) are less likely to engage in OI. Taken together, our findings offer a finer-grained and more realistic depiction of the likely organizational learning potential that arises from participating in inter-firm R&D cooperation, shedding light on the behavioural gains and biases associated with different types of R&D alliance partners.