Relational Risks Perception in European Biotechnology Alliances:: The Effect of Contextual Factors

Abstract

Strategic alliances are characterized by inherent instability arising from uncertainty regarding a partner’s future behaviour and the absence of a higher authority to ensure compliance. Consequently, when firms adopt these strategies, they are confronted with a relational risk. This paper adopts a multidimensional view of relational risk. Generally, perception of risk depends on several factors; some of them are situational and contextual. This study links managers’ risk relational perception in alliance relationships with three situational factors: the degree of relational capital, the structure of the relationship and the degree of asymmetries between partners. The hypotheses were tested with survey data on partnerships of European Biotechnology firms. The results suggest that relational risk perception is more influenced by informal contextual factors than by formal contextual factors.