Knowledge Transfer In Strategic Alliances Research Articles

Relational capital, strategic alliances and learning

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to portray and analyze the importance of learning and knowledge transfer in strategic alliances created in the context of emerging markets, Russia and Taiwan in particular, and to identify the influence of relational capital factors on the effectives of learning in strategic alliances. Strategic alliances are one of the main tools companies resort to learn, acquire and develop new knowledge and skills. Design/methodology/approach This research is conducted by case study with four international strategic alliances between Taiwanese and Russian companies. Findings The results showed that the main driver determining the propensity of the companies located in the emerging markets to establish strategic alliances is learning intent. More specifically, the companies are willing to acquire partner’s managerial, marketing and production knowledge and skills. Relational capital created between partners, and presented through the existence of trust, communication and openness proved to have a determinant influence on the effectiveness and quality of learning process in the strategic alliances, especially in the context of the emerging markets. However, there is an inverted-U relationship between the learning potential of an alliance and the strength of relational involvement of the alliance partners, who utilize the certain means to prevent the negative effects of over-embeddedness. Originality/value The major contributions that were made by the study are the following: the authors made an attempt to synthesize different approaches and investigate what are the primary factors affecting strategic alliances formation and operation in the emerging markets context. The authors extended the previous research by reviewing, not only the impact of the relational capital on the process of learning among the partners in the strategic alliances but also by analyzing the forces influencing the strength of these ties. The authors further investigated whether the continuous strengthening of the relational ties is necessary and always beneficial for the companies.

Who is My Partner and How Do We Dance? Technological Collaboration and Patenting Speed in US Biotechnology

In settings where patents and intellectual property provide a strong regime of appropriability, the race to be the first firm to patent a product or a process is a central feature of competition. In this context, we hypothesize that cooperative arrangements that only gain access to external knowledge contribute less to heterogeneity between firms and have a much weaker influence on patenting than alliances that transfer highly firm‐specific knowledge, residing in individual and social relationships. We also hypothesize that cooperations between private firms and public organizations accelerate the rate of patenting to a higher degree than cooperations among private firms. We develop and test these ideas on the population of 839 US biotechnology firms between 1973 and 2003. We discuss the importance of our findings on the debate about the value of knowledge access versus knowledge transfer in strategic alliances.

Learning and Knowledge Transfer in Strategic Alliances: A Social Exchange View

Although social interactions and exchanges between partners are emphasized as imperative for alliance success, comprehensive examination of how social exchanges facilitate learning and knowledge transfer in strategic alliances is lacking. Drawing on social exchange theory, we examined the effects of social exchange processes between alliance partners on the extent of learning and knowledge transfer in a strategic alliance. An empirical examination of data collected from alliance managers of 144 strategic alliances revealed that social exchanges such as reciprocal commitment, trust, and mutual influence between partners are positively related to learning and knowledge transfer in strategic alliances.

Ambiguity and the process of knowledge transfer in strategic alliances

This research examines the role played by the ‘causally ambiguous’ nature of knowledge in the process of knowledge transfer between strategic alliance partners. Based on a cross-sectional sample of 147 multinationals and a structural equation methodology, this study empirically investigates the simultaneous effects of knowledge ambiguity and its antecedents—tacitness, asset specificity, prior experience, complexity, partner protectiveness, cultural distance, and organizational distance—on technological knowledge transfer. In contrast to past research that generally assumed a direct relation between these explanatory variables and transfer outcomes, this study’s findings highlight the critical role played by knowledge ambiguity as a full mediator of tacitness, prior experience, complexity, cultural distance, and organizational distance on knowledge transfer. These significant effects are further found to be moderated by the firm’s level of collaborative know-how, its learning capacity, and the duration of the alliance. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ambiguity and the process of knowledge transfer in strategic alliances

This research examines the role played by the ‘causally ambiguous’ nature of knowledge in the process of knowledge transfer between strategic alliance partners. Based on a cross-sectional sample of 147 multinationals and a structural equation methodology, this study empirically investigates the simultaneous effects of knowledge ambiguity and its antecedents—tacitness, asset specificity, prior experience, complexity, partner protectiveness, cultural distance, and organizational distance—on technological knowledge transfer. In contrast to past research that generally assumed a direct relation between these explanatory variables and transfer outcomes, this study’s findings highlight the critical role played by knowledge ambiguity as a full mediator of tacitness, prior experience, complexity, cultural distance, and organizational distance on knowledge transfer. These significant effects are further found to be moderated by the firm’s level of collaborative know-how, its learning capacity, and the duration of the alliance. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.