Strategic Interactions between a Start-Upps Original and Subsequent Alliance Partners: Evidence from the Biopharmaceutical Industry

Abstract

The co-existence of a start-up’s original and subsequent alliance partners raises the question of how these two types of alliance partners interact with each other. To address this question, I build on two perspectives, including competitive cooperation and resource dependence perspectives, which predict the nature of the relationship between the two parties in a different manner. Using a longitudinal dataset of technology alliances involved with biopharmaceutical start-ups, and consistent with the resource dependence perspective, I find that these two parties are cooperative with each other, rather than competitive against each other. When the two parties are technologically diversified, the cooperative relationships are more salient; and the subsequent alliance partners more often choose R&D and equity alliances rather than licensing contracts.