Entrepreneurial Alliances Research Articles

Mapping the entrepreneurial university literature: a text mining approach

ABSTRACT Since the introduction of the concept of entrepreneurial university in 1980s, the number of studies has dramatically increased, in particular since 2015. This had made the literature on the entrepreneurial university complex, fragmented and difficult to navigate. This paper provides a comprehensive review of all topics covered in the body of literature on the entrepreneurial university and identifies the most salient topics and papers within this literature, making use of text-mining techniques. Our paper employs topic modelling that reveals the underlying semantic structure of texts to identify the different underlying. Our study systematically analyses 1,110 papers over the period 1983–2020 using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation algorithm. Our analysis shows that the entrepreneurial university is fragmented around different topics that are very diverse. We find a total of 20 differentiated topics. Our study suggests that topics related to the overarching theme of academic entrepreneurship, in particular to commercialisation of research and the triple helix model are very popular within the entrepreneurial university literature. Finally, our analysis reveals that case-study type of research is losing momentum, giving path to nascent topics of research in the areas of entrepreneurial capability and university-industry alliances, which are becoming very popular within the entrepreneurial university literature.

Extending the role of headquarters beyond the firm boundary: entrepreneurial alliance innovation

Prior research on corporate headquarters (CHQ) characteristics identifies the impact of CHQ location and composition on the innovation outcomes of internal subsidiaries. However, given that external strategic alliances with high-tech entrepreneurial firms represent a key source of innovation for the corporation, corporations must also consider how their choices of CHQ location and composition affect the innovation outcomes of these partners. In a study of 36 incumbent pharmaceutical corporations in 377 strategic alliances with 143 VC-backed biotechnology startups, we leverage detailed hand-collected data on CHQ locations and functions to estimate the effect of the CHQ on the innovation performance of the corporations’ entrepreneurial alliance partners. We find that a 1000-km decrease in CHQ–partner distance leads to an increase of 28 forward citations for the alliance partner, i.e., a 1% decrease in the distance is associated with a 1.7% increase in innovation performance. We find that the co-located presence of the corporation’s R&D function at the CHQ attenuates the benefit of CHQ–partner proximity, particularly for alliances structured for horizontal collaboration at the same part of the value chain. This study contributes to the literatures on both CHQ design and technology alliances.

Entrepreneurial Alliance Innovation and Corporate Headquarters Distance

Entrepreneurial Alliance Innovation and Corporate Headquarters Distance

The financing of alliance entrepreneurship

It is popular nowadays for entrepreneurial firms to advance their entrepreneurship outside their boundaries through alliances. This paper studies how the financing of entrepreneurship changes in strategic alliances. We model a financially constrained entrepreneur and a deep-pocket incumbent developing an innovative product through a strategic alliance, which generates externalities on the incumbent. We find that i) in contrast to traditional theories, the entrepreneur's financial constraint can be tightened by an increase in his endowment; ii) an outside investor is introduced as a third party to deal with the free-riding agency problem; and iii) the externalities have a significant effect on the design of financial claims in the alliance contract, and the incentive-compatible financial instruments are consistent with empirical observations.

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Strategic Alliance Performance: A Moderated Mediation Model (WITHDRAWN)

This study extends entrepreneurship research into the domain of strategic alliances by hypothesizing a positive relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and strategic alliance performa...

Innovate alone or with others? Influence of entrepreneurial orientation and alliance orientation on media business model innovation

ABSTRACTBeing able to innovate one’s business model has been a topic of paramount importance in media management research and practice. Recent studies suggest that the strategic orientation of a company is a central driver of business model innovation. However, empirical evidence is scarce. To fill this gap, we assess the impact of entrepreneurial and alliance orientation as two highly relevant strategic orientations with a quantitative survey of 50 companies. Our results show that a media company’s entrepreneurial orientation has positive effects on its ability to innovate value creation and value proposition, but not on its ability to capture that value. In addition, we could not find significant results indicating that being alliance oriented is beneficial for business model innovation.

Alliance Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Orientation: The Mediating Effect of Knowledge Transfer

Today’s rapidly changing business environment has impelled companies to cooperate with their competitors in order to gain more competitive advantages through a win-win situation. Thereby, building alliances is one of the cooperative strategies that have been adopted by many enterprises, consequently attracting great attention from scholars. However, the literature about alliances seems to lack studies in the domain of entrepreneurship. Accordingly, this paper aims to extend entrepreneurship into the field of alliances by highlighting two phenomenal concepts: alliance entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial orientation. Hence, the relationship between these two constructs, together with the mediating role of knowledge transfer between alliance partners, is investigated. Employing the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique we analyze a set of data from the automotive industry and its sub-sectors. The results confirm the significant positive effect of alliance entrepreneurship on partners’ entrepreneurial orientation, as well as the mediating effect of knowledge transfer.

Alliance entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial orientation: the mediating effect of knowledge transfer

Today’s rapidly changing business environment has impelled companies to cooperate with their competitors gaining more competitive advantages by achieving win-win situation. Thereby, building alliances as one of the cooperative strategies has been adopted by many enterprises, consequently attracting great attention of numerous scholars. Nevertheless, the alliance literature seems to lack studies in the domain of entrepreneurship. Accordingly, this paper aims to extend entrepreneurship into the field of alliances highlighting two phenomenal concepts: alliance entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial orientation. Hence, the relationship between these two constructs together with the mediating role of knowledge transfer between alliance partners are investigated. We used Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM) technique under two sections of measurement model and structural model assessment in order to analyze data. The results gathered from Iran’s automotive industry confirmed the positive significant impact of alliance entrepreneurship on partners’ entrepreneurial orientation and the mediating effect of knowledge transfer

How Do VCs Affect Entrepreneurial Firms' Alliance Activity?

This paper aims to understand how the involvement of venture capitalists (VCs) affects alliance formation and alliance characteristics in entrepreneurial firms. Specifically, we examine the linkages between VCs and the likelihood, number, type and geographic characteristics of the strategic alliances implemented by entrepreneurial firms. We draw from a sample that allows us to compare VC- backed firms against their counterparts with fewer concerns tied to endogeneity biases than previous studies. While our results show that both the statistical and the economic significance of VCs’ contribution to alliance formation are sizable, the types of partnerships and partner characteristics are indifferent for VC- and non-VC-backed firms alike. A number of implications are discussed.

New structures of power and regulation within ‘distributed’ education policy – the example of the US Common Core State Standards Initiative

This article focuses on the growing development towards new forms of ‘distributed’ governance within current large-scale educational reforms. The emphasis is on so-called ‘governance through standards’ as a transformative reform complex which manifests itself in a simultaneous process of regulative destabilisation and (global) reconstruction of policy control. This newly emerging regulative policy ‘ensemble’ is found to be directly related to the growing collaborative activity of cross-field networks between governmental, non-governmental and private actors. Empirically, this article refers to the so-called Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Initiative which has fundamentally reshaped US education policy since 2001. The initiative comprised the negotiation, implementation and controlling of supra-state core skill standards for K-12 education as the benchmark for other regulating instruments such as assessments, monitoring and teacher training. In the context of the CCSS, the aforementioned new structures of regulation can then be located within an entrepreneurial alliance around the non-profit organisation Achieve, Inc. Through its function as a core policy network manager, Achieve generated simultaneous practices of collaboration and distinction, discourse initiation and (invisible) norm stabilisation.

SME alliance performance: the impacts of alliance entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial orientation, and intellectual capital

This study highlights the fulfilment of firms' entrepreneurship promises through building alliances. In this regard, the impact of alliance entrepreneurship on small and medium sized enterprises' (SMEs) performance was investigated. Extending entrepreneurship into the domain of alliances, we found that there are some major factors affecting the relationship between alliance entrepreneurship and SME performance. Alliance partners' entrepreneurial orientation and protecting their intellectual capital were considered as the two most important factors. Since alliances between SMEs are common in industries affiliated to automobile manufacturing, we attempted to assess alliances among Iranian auto parts manufacturing SMEs. According to the data gathered from 81 SMEs which had established alliances, we concluded that SMEs' alliance entrepreneurship has a significant positive impact on their performance. Furthermore, SMEs' entrepreneurial orientation mediates the relationship between alliance entrepreneurship and performance as well as the relationship between intellectual capital and performance.

A Game Theoretic View of Value Destruction in Entrepreneurial Alliances: A Revelatory Case Study

Extant research on alliances shows that over half of the alliances fail over time, however, literature on alliance dynamics has focused primarily on value creation in the context of established fir...

Toward the measurement of alliance entrepreneurship: initial scale development and validation

This study attempts to develop and empirically test a measurement instrument assessing alliance entrepreneurship. The proposed scale comprises three dimensions: pre-alliance formation factors, post-alliance formation factors, and alliance performance, each incorporating several sub-dimensions. A series of three studies are implemented to generate an initial pool of items, to test the quality of data, and to purify the proposed scale. Data analysis is conducted in terms of reliability and validity assessment, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and also outer and inner model estimation. Employing the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique in both covariance-based and component-based approaches, our findings from a sample of firms in Iran's telecommunication and automotive industries provide strong evidence of reliability and validity, multidimensionality of constructs in second-order hierarchical modes, and the goodness of fit for measurement models as well as the structural model.

The Praxis of Grassroots Diplomacy For Social Entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurs design and implement innovative, sustainable, and scalable solutions to pressing social challenges across the world. While the success of their ventures is impacted by numerous factors, their long-term viability and endurance depends on the relationships built with diverse stakeholders. The praxis of grassroots diplomacy facilitates the development of harmonious and effective relationships that catalyze social change. This art and science of pro-active conflict avoidance and resolution helps navigate multifaceted social dynamics and develop successful entrepreneurial alliances and ecosystems. With the help of several examples and mini case-studies, this article articulates the meaning and importance of grassroots diplomacy. A conceptual framework based on six core competencies of proactive scenario planning, empathy, trust-based relationship building, equitable collaboration, conflict resolution, and ethical reflection is presented. Finally, a practical methodology that animates these core competences into a structured process that strengthens partnerships and ventures is presented. These concepts, competencies and methodologies are built upon the central tenets of systems thinking and self-determination that leads to systemic self-determined improvement of lives and livelihoods.

From business networks to philanthropic networks: Chinese entrepreneurs and the SEE project

In the study of modern Chinese philanthropy, Chinese entrepreneurs and business people have become important players to understand the development of a modern form of philanthropy in Mainland China, albeit with Chinese governmental encouragement. This paper will explore mainland Chinese entrepreneurs’ foray into social responsibility in a changing moral landscape. It argues that through different sets of loose networks of weak ties in the business dealings connections among the entrepreneurs, these entrepreneurs were able to extend their loose entrepreneurial networks into philanthropic networks and establish an environment oriented NGO called Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology (SEE). It will examine how entrepreneurs’ business connections and networks are transformed into philanthropic networks where the intersection of the entrepreneurs’ philanthropic acts leads to an entrepreneurial alliance of social responsibility and in this case study, to concern about the environmental issues. The forging of this alliance is located against a background of government’s encouragement through a combination of rhetorical persuasion and policy incentives.

Affects of alliance entrepreneurship on common vision, alliance capability and alliance performance

The underlying theoretical argument of our study concerns that value from alliance knowledge may be created not only through exploitation and augmentation of the existing organizational knowledge base, but more through entrepreneurial actions in accessing and integrating key strategic resources that exist in the alliance relationship. In this view, our study investigates the role of alliance entrepreneurship with its effects on common vision, alliance capability and alliance performance in penetrating into the foreign markets. This study develops and empirically tests a model that specifically focuses on (1) to what extent alliance entrepreneurship relates to developing a common vision between alliance and organizational knowledge, (2) to what extent alliance entrepreneurship relates to the alliance capability and alliance performance respectively, and (3) to what extent barriers to alliance knowledge acquisition and learning orientation moderate the relationship between alliance entrepreneurship and alliance capability.Based on a sample of 100 ICT firms, findings of our study reveal a positive and significant affect of alliance entrepreneurship on common vision, alliance capability and alliance performance. However, more significant support is received for the relation between alliance entrepreneurship and alliance capability through moderating interaction effects of barriers to alliance knowledge acquisition and firm level learning orientation.

Franchising success: Insights from real estate brokerage

This article highlights factors that contribute to the success of franchising in the Australasian real estate brokerage industry. Evidence from both franchisor and franchisee perspectives reveals underlying fundamentals of competitive advantage. System success is argued to be based on the development of a complementary resource competency that ensures relationship sustainability. The franchisee adds value to the franchisor-initiated system and brand by developing presence and expertise in the local market. Franchisee screening and recruitment strategy is important, with prior experience and industry acculturation occupying a central place as a driver of success. The nature of entrepreneurship is a key question addressed and the strength of the entrepreneurial alliance is shown to be a component of the success equation. The pursuit of explanations beyond agency and resource scarcity theory widens the theoretical lens for examining the ubiquitous phenomenon of franchising in the real estate domain.

Designing alliance networks: the influence of network position, environmental change, and strategy on firm performance

AbstractAlliance networks are strategic decisions involving trade‐offs between two stylized structural design choices: prominent and entrepreneurial. Prominent alliance networks emphasize benefits arising out of multiple access and affiliation to other prominent firms in the network. An entrepreneurial position, on the other hand, emphasizes brokerage and diversity benefits arising out of access to nonredundant and diverse information. We demonstrate that the performance benefits of each type of alliance network are contingent on environmental change and strategy, and are thus time dependent. Following an environmental change event in the steel industry, alliance networks that were more entrepreneurial performed better, while those that were more prominent suffered performance decline. However, when the change was radical, both types of alliance networks were negatively related to performance. We suggest that following a radical change, industry alliance networks may not have the requisite information necessary for quick and effective strategic responses. Firms pursuing an analyzer strategy performed better when emphasizing a prominent, and to a lesser extent, entrepreneurial alliance network. However, firms that develop an alliance network high on both prominent and entrepreneurial structural positions had lower relative performance. Our results indicate the need for managers to assess their alliance portfolio over time and redesign it based on environmental and strategic contingencies. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Entrepreneurial alliances as contractual forms

Entrepreneurial alliances as contractual forms

Entrepreneurial alliances as contractual forms

Advancing upon taxonomical research on interfirm alliances, we investigate the design of entrepreneurial firms' alliances in more fine-grained terms by focusing on the specific contractual provisions that firms negotiate into their alliance contracts. Drawing upon transaction cost arguments, we examine the determinants of the contractual complexity of collaborative agreements in the German telecommunications industry. The findings reveal that alliance contracts vary greatly in their complexity, yet contracts for non-equity alliances tend to be no more or less complex than those for equity alliances on average. Furthermore, multivariate findings on the roles of transaction-specific investment, relational capital, search costs, and so forth demonstrate that firms' contractual and governance choices have distinct antecedents.