Abstract
Nascent scholarly work has found support for the negative impact that alternative partnering opportunities exert on the stability of established alliance relationships. Still, little is known about how the characteristics of both the existing as well as the alternative partner influence a firm’s propensity to switch alliance partners. Drawing on a dataset of 2,400 hypothetical decisions made by 120 alliance executives, we show that relational embeddedness and partner-specific investment in an established alliance act as cohesive forces and thus decrease the propensity to terminate the alliance and pursue an outside partnering opportunity. The effect of relational embeddedness is, however, attenuated in highly dynamic and complex industries, as decision makers seem to favor flexibility over commitment if environmental uncertainty is high. The implications for research on contextual factors in alliance termination decisions are discussed.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
