Alliance Governance Structure Research Articles

Choosing innovation alliance governance structure: The roles of performance feedback and top management team characteristics

Abstract While the importance of innovation alliance for high-technological firms is well-documented, existing literature provides little guidance on the role of performance feedback in an alliance governance structure choice. Drawing on performance feedback theory, this study sheds light on the association between performance deviating (either above or below) from firms’ social aspirations and the governance structure choice of innovation alliances. Using an unbalanced panel of Chinese biopharmaceutical firms spanning from 2007 to 2020, we find that firms experiencing negative performance feedback prefer a non-equity innovation alliance structure, whereas those with positive performance feedback are more likely to adopt an equity one. The strength of these relationships is contingent on top management team average tenure and educational-level diversity. Our findings both provide theoretical and practical insights into guiding how firms under different states of performance feedback select alliance governance structures.

Divergent and Convergent Effects of Business Group Affiliation on Firm Performance in International Strategic Alliances

Business groups (BGs), a prevalent organizational form in many economies are exhibiting evolutionary fitness and are no longer considered an organizational anomaly. We extend the traditional debate around strategic choice and performance paradigm by assessing differential performance effects of BG affiliation in international strategic alliance (ISA) formation choices(alliance scope, alliance governance structure, and alliance orientation). This study integrates the resource-based view and institutional perspective to explore the initial divergence in performance of a BG affiliated firm (BGAF) and non-BG affiliated firm (NBGAF) leading towards convergence later when partner complementarity and institutional evolution shifts from lower to the higher end of the spectrum. Contrasting the effect of different ISA choices on firm’s performance the hypotheses were developed and tested on a panel dataset of 1816 ISAs formed by 224 BGAFs and 242 NBGAFs over a span of 19 years. Findings suggest that the influence of BG affiliation on firm’s performance is more pronounced when alliance scope is broader, alliance governance structure is contractual and alliance orientation is exploratory and that this divergence in performance between BGAFs and NBGAFs weakens as the alliance partner’s complementarity increases and institutions evolve in the economy.

The Impact of Alliance Diversity on Internationalization Performance: The Mediating Role of Alliance Governance Structure Diversity

The Impact of Alliance Diversity on Internationalization Performance: The Mediating Role of Alliance Governance Structure Diversity

Geographical Diversity of Alliance Portfolio and Firm Innovation: The Roles of Resource Characteristics and Governance Structures

This paper explores how geographical diversity of an alliance portfolio benefits resource-based firm innovation. We propose that there are inverted U-shaped relationships between geographical diversity of an alliance portfolio and a firm’s radical and incremental innovation. In addition, resource characteristics and alliance governance structures are considered as important moderators between geographically diverse alliances and innovation. Relevant resources of alliance partners help focal firms to acquire valuable resources from different locations, thus improving organizational capabilities and achieving innovation. Governance structure choices concentrate on opportunism and transaction cost in coordinating resource sharing and recombination activities, which determine focal firms’ cost of knowledge management and then innovation outcome. Our research could advance the literature on alliance portfolio diversity by studying how firms use their alliance portfolio from diverse locations to recombine resources and then to enhance innovation, which remains less explored.

East Sussex Better Together Alliance - Governance to enable cross sector delivery

Our problem, what we did and how: ESBT is a partnership between two local Clinical Commissioning Groups CCGs, the acute and community NHS Trust, mental health NHS Foundation Trust and the County Council. The partners’ aim is to integrate the whole system to ensure they use their combined £860m annual budget to achieve the best possible services for their local population approximately 370,000 people. To facilitate this in 2017/18 ESBT came up with a transitional governance model within the current UK legislative context, in order to enable the partners work differently together as a whole health and care system to achieve their ESBT objectives. The integration transformation programme of work started in 2013 and the new governing arrangements have been in place since April 2017. Highlights innovation, Impact and outcomes: Tangible outputs of this work to date include for example: A single integrated point of contact hub for all health and care services; A Crisis Response service supporting older people at risk of emergency admission to hospital; Fully staffed and operational integrated locality teams in 6 localities; A welfare benefits Project that has supported over 7,000 people; 183schools with developed whole school health improvement plans; 136 nurseries – 82% total / rising to 93% in areas with highest inequalities have signed up to the nursery transformation programme Healthy Active Little Ones HALO; rocess and outcome measures that indicate the impact that the programme has had to date include: Activity change between 2013/14 and 2016/17 is lower for ESBT and the acute provider, than in STP CCGs and nationally in all points of delivery bar AE Comparators showing CCG activity rates per 100,000 weighted population against the average for England are lower across almost all points of delivery other than bed days; 72% of people seen by the Crisis Response have not been re-admitted to hospital within a month; Improved access to psychological therapies– target 75% actual; Eastbourne Hailsham and Seaford 85.5% / Hastings and Rother 89% Healthy Living PharmacistHLP - 53 pharmacists and 10 pharmacy staff in wider roles attended leadership training in preparation for new ways of working. Conclusions: In order to develop and shape proposals for further strengthening the ESBT Alliance in 2018/19 we have mapped and reviewed the existing governance arrangements of our sovereign commissioning member organisations, as well as the key elements of our new ESBT Alliance governance structure, to further develop our understanding of the following: what is currently delegable to our Alliance and what isn’t; where lay, clinical and elected members’ roles could be used to best effect in assuring plans as we move forward on a system-wide basis in 2018/19; an initial screening exercise of potential equalities and health inequalities impacts, and; the transitional timetable that will be necessary to test system-wide governance and leadership arrangements over the year. The process of developing the new governance model should be transferable to any context.

Unraveling the effect of alliance experience on alliance formation and alliance governance structure: A meta-analytic approach

Alliance experience plays a crucial role in the stage of alliance formation. However, theoretical gaps and empirical controversies exist in the analyses of its effects on alliance formation and alliance governance structure. Drawing on the method of meta-analysis, we have systematically searched and coded previous empirical studies, generating a database of 91 empirical studies in all. Through classifying alliance experience into general and partner-specific alliance experience, we seek to examine the different effects of these two types of alliance experience on alliance formation and alliance governance structure. We enrich the classification of alliance experience in terms of governance structure to address the disadvantages of this classification in explaining the resulting effects. Our research uses meta-regression to provide evidence about how contextual contingencies affect the alliance experience–alliance governance structure link. JEL Classification: L22, L24

Improving the Progress of Research & Development (R&D) Projects by Selecting an Optimal Alliance Structure and Partner Type

AbstractThis paper extends the study of alliance governance structure by examining what alliance structure, coordination mechanisms and partner type best enhance the likelihood of Research and Development (R&D) progress or performance. We specially focus on the coordination and interaction mechanism of alliances, through which we classify the alliance governance structures in order to reflect the more complex alliance types and contracts used in today's R&D. Using data from 255 biopharmaceuticals between the years 2000 and 2004, we found that, ceteris paribus, a moderate degree of inter‐partner interaction and a moderately complex (non‐equity‐based) alliance contract contributes more to a better R&D alliance performance than those structures that are too simple or too organizationally embedded (e.g. equity joint ventures), which possibly increase the risk of misalignment and miscommunication between allies. In addition, due to the reduced opportunism and the diverse resource (e.g. technology) pooled in the alliance, allying with diverse organizational partners such as non‐profit research institutes and universities is more likely to enhance the R&D performance. Our findings provide insightful strategic implications to practitioners in designing an appropriate alliance governance structure and choosing the right partner type for a successful R&D collaboration.

Knowledge sharing while managing uncertainty in R&D alliances: An eclectic perspective

Firms do not simply choose an alliance governance mode, but rather they design alliance governance structures to adapt the continuously changing task/external environments and coordinate complex tasks at hand. We develop a model of R&D alliance governance design under uncertain environments by incorporating two critical functions of alliance structure (i.e., task-based interaction and contractual complexity). And we suggest in the model that allies with a more complex task goal such as knowledge creation than knowledge-seeking/accessing design the alliance with a more organizationally integrated structure (e.g., Equity Joint Venture) where the degree of interaction and coordination is greatest. But in the face of exogenous and endogenous uncertainty, allies design the governance structure through a non-equity based contractual mode with the flexibility clauses and contract provisions. This conceptual model further harmonizes theoretical gaps among knowledge-based view, real options theory and transaction cost economics of alliance regarding the puzzled question on the alliance governance mode choice for complex R&D under highly uncertain environments, and provides an eclectic perspective on the design of alliance governance structure.

Agent and Task Complexity in Multilateral Alliances: The Safeguarding Role of Equity Governance

Abstract Multilateral alliances are an inherently complex organizational form; managing these complexities is particularly difficult for alliance partners because alliances are plagued by both internal and external uncertainty. Using insights from transaction cost economics, our study identifies, articulates and tests different forms of alliance complexity and their impacts on alliance governance structure. Specifically, we investigate two forms of alliance complexity: agent and task. We decompose agent complexity into organizational and partner complexity, and decompose task complexity into geographic, transaction and technological complexity. Using a sample of 327 trilateral alliances, the most frequent form of multilateral alliances, we find that three forms of alliance complexity involving internal uncertainty (organizational, partner and technological complexity) favor equity-based governance, whereas external uncertainty in the form of geographic complexity discourages equity-based governance.

The complementary effects of transaction cost economics and resource-based view: a technological alliance perspective

This paper examines the impact of two theoretical frameworks - transaction cost economics (TCE) and resource-based view (RBV) - on alliance processes among Korean high-tech manufacturing ventures. Results show that TCE and RBV can be applied complementarily to explain the formation of technological alliances. TCE variables are more related with alliance partner characteristics, while RBV is linked with partner capabilities. Both show positive effects on performance. No significant effect is found regarding alliance governance structure. While selecting appropriate technological alliance partners shows positive effects on performance, no significant effect is found between alliance governance structure and performance. Elements of both theories impacting each alliance stage and analytical explanations of such impacts are discussed.

The complementary effects of transaction cost economics and resource-based view: a technological alliance perspective

This paper examines the impact of two theoretical frameworks - transaction cost economics (TCE) and resource-based view (RBV) - on alliance processes among Korean high-tech manufacturing ventures. Results show that TCE and RBV can be applied complementarily to explain the formation of technological alliances. TCE variables are more related with alliance partner characteristics, while RBV is linked with partner capabilities. Both show positive effects on performance. No significant effect is found regarding alliance governance structure. While selecting appropriate technological alliance partners shows positive effects on performance, no significant effect is found between alliance governance structure and performance. Elements of both theories impacting each alliance stage and analytical explanations of such impacts are discussed.

Framework for identifying appropriate alliance governance structure for a knowledge process outsourcing organisation in an as-a-service delivery scenario

Traditional business process outsourcing (BPO) has been typically restricted to standardised process functions not perceived as core to the outsourcing organisations. However with knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), organisations are also exploring outsourcing of closer-to-core knowledge- intensive processes. Additionally, they are increasingly unwilling to the draw the line of separation between business process and relevant technology outsourcing and are expecting an integrated as-a-service approach. Thus KPO service providers are confronted with the dual challenge of building knowledge-intensive capabilities as well as integrating the relevant technologies hitherto not under their purview. This is leading many KPO organisations to look at building strategic partnerships with technology organisations. However, the success of the endeavour potentially rests on the organisation's alliance management capability as well as its ability of acquire, internalise and implement knowledge from partners (absorptive capacity). This paper attempts to develop a framework of possible alliance governance structures specifically aimed at KPO in an as‐a‐service scenario.

Framework for identifying appropriate alliance governance structure for a knowledge process outsourcing organisation in an as-a-service delivery scenario

Framework for identifying appropriate alliance governance structure for a knowledge process outsourcing organisation in an as-a-service delivery scenario

The Comparative Effects of Transaction Cost Economics and Resource Based View: A Technological Alliance Motivational Perspective

<p>This paper examines the impact of two main alliance motivation theories, transaction cost economics (TCE) and resource based view (RBV), on alliance processes among Korean manufacturing high-tech ventures. Results show that TCE and RBV are complimentarily explaining the formation of inter-firm alliances. TCE variables are more related with alliance partner characteristics while RBV is more linked with partner capabilities. Both show positive effects on performance. No significant effect is found on determining an alliance governance structure. While selecting appropriate technological alliance partners show positive effects on performance, no significant effect is found between alliance governance structure and performance. Factors of both theories impacting each alliance stage and analytical explanations of such impacts are discussed.</p>

Choosing an appropriate alliance governance mode: The role of institutional, cultural and geographical distance in international research & development (R&D) collaborations

We identify a variety of R&D alliance modes in a knowledge-intensive industry (e.g., Pharmaceuticals), and classify them into four ordered categories which go beyond the traditional binary equity vs non-equity alliance classification. This enriches our understanding of alliance governance structures and broadens the application of alliance modes in what is today a more complicated international R&D collaboration setting. We then explore national, industry and firm factors that determine the selection of an appropriate R&D alliance governance mode, using a sample of 237 international alliance deals. The likelihood of using a more-integrated alliance governance mode decreases as the difference or “distance” between nations of the partner firms increases in terms of human capital and cultural distance. On the other hand, a greater geographic and institutional difference is positively associated with the selection of more integrated alliance governance modes. Furthermore, firms in the research stage are more likely to use a more-integrated governance mode, as opposed to firms in the development stage. These findings advance research on alliance governance structure. They reveal the factors affecting the R&D alliance governance mode choice.

The Impact of External Contexts on Alliance Governance in Biotech–Pharmaceutical Firm Alliances

The interest in strategic alliances has increased over the years, especially in high tech global industries such as biotechnology, as firms seek to gain access to needed resources, expertise, and knowledge for developing and commercializing new products and technologies. The governance structure of these alliances, which is an important consideration in understanding alliance formation and performance, is influenced by both external and internal contexts of the alliance partners. However, evidence from prior research has been inconclusive regarding the impact of external contexts on alliance governance selection. To better understand this impact, we simultaneously examine three key partner external contexts - international, technological, and social contexts, and their influence on biotechnology-pharmaceutical alliance governance structure selection. Using a sample of 389 alliances formed during the six-year period 1995 through 2000, we find that the international context, specifically national cultural d...

The Timing of Codevelopment Alliances in New Product Development Processes: Returns for Upstream and Downstream Partners

Upstream biotech firms (i.e., upstream partners) and downstream pharmaceutical firms (i.e., downstream partners) often form alliances to cope with performance uncertainty and to exploit product specificity in new product development. Although the performance implications of such alliances have been investigated, research has not offered insight into how the timing of such codevelopment alliances influences partner returns. The authors develop and test predictions that timing changes the costs and benefits accruing to upstream and downstream partners and that the effect of timing is influenced by a set of alliance, firm, and market conditions. An event study of 276 codevelopment agreements between biotech and pharmaceutical firms during 1998–2010 reveals that alliance governance structure, partner technological capability, and the competitiveness of market environments change the abnormal returns achieved by partners entering these relationships in important ways.

Choosing an Appropriate Alliance Governance Mode

We identify a variety of R&D alliance modes in a knowledge-intensive industry (i.e., Pharmaceuticals), and classify them into four ordered categories which go beyond the traditional binary equity vs. non-equity alliance classification. This enriches our understanding of alliance governance structures and broadens the application of alliance modes in what is today a more complicated international R&D collaboration setting. We then explore national, industry and firm factors that determine the selection of an appropriate R&D alliance governance mode, using a sample of 237 international alliance deals. The likelihood of using a more-integrated alliance governance mode decreases as the difference or distance between nations of the partner firms increases in terms of human capital and cultural distance. On the other hand, a greater geographic and institutional difference is positively associated with the selection of more integrated alliance governance modes. Furthermore, firms in the research stage are more...

A holistic and integrated approach to theorizing strategic alliances of small and medium-sized enterprises

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to seek to deliver a new and holistic insight on small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) strategic alliances in terms of the precursor, motivations, selection, governance structure, outcomes and challenges of strategic alliances of SMEs and the relationships between them.Design/methodology/approach– To better understand the entire process of SME strategic alliances, the author takes a novel approach which is based on a combined perspective of entrepreneurship and innovation, resource-based theory, and social network theory.Findings– The author develops a theoretical model which seeks to conceptualize the antecedents, process, and outcomes of strategic alliances of SMEs and the relationships between them.Research limitations/implications– The conceptual framework provides the directions for future empirical testing and further theoretical research.Practical implications– This study may help managers better understand the importance of an integrated approach to entrepreneurship and innovation, and the process and outcomes of enhancing their entrepreneurship and innovation capacities through strategic alliances.Originality/value– To the author's knowledge, this study is the first of its kind that takes a holistic and integrated approach to study SME strategic alliances.

Role of context and contest in the structuring of alliance governance

Purpose – The alliance governance – whether equity or non-equity based – through which an alliance is governed serves as a mechanism to protect a firm from partner's opportunistic behavior, manage resource dependence and facilitate knowledge sharing. Alliance governance structure also reflects the risk, reward and control that partners perceive in a relationship. In light of the conflicts and instabilities reported in strategic alliances, the purpose of this paper is to examine the interorganizational domain that affects the endurance and continuity of collaboration and explain how the alliance interface contexts determines the structuring of alliance governance. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical examination of 179 strategic alliances, using survey and archival data conducted to test the hypothesized relationship between the choice of governance structure and the complexity of alliance task, balance of power and competitive scope between partners. Findings – A multinomial logistic regression of the hypothesized variables revealed that the complexity of alliance task, balance of power, and competitive scope between partners are significantly related to the mode of alliance governance – whether non-equity, minority-equity, or joint venture. Originality/value – This study makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the relationships between the contextual factors such as the alliance task, power dynamics, and competitive scope that shape the collaboration and structuring of appropriate alliance governance mode. Results of the study provide strong evidence for the hypotheses that the greater the task complexity, and greater the balance of power and scope of competition between partners, the alliance governance tends to be equity or joint venture based. Consistent with recommendations of several organizational scholars that the theory of alliance governance and performance must shift from individual partner firm to interaction domain and interface contexts (Luo, 2002; Gray and Wood, 1991; Oxley and Sampson, 2004), this study integrally examined the dyadic issues such as balance of power, task complexity, and the competitive scope and the dynamic role they play in decisions pertaining to alliance governance. While many extant studies on the choice of alliance governance structure have employed secondary data sources, the study employed data from survey measures (Gulati, 1995; Teng and Das, 2008; Oxley and Sampson, 2004) enhancing the validity of the results.