Multipartner Alliances Research Articles

Strength in numbers: Scale, scope, and performance in multipartner alliances

The general assumption is that multipartner alliances are increasingly favored by firms as means of creating larger pools of shared resources and capabilities. Yet, extant literature has hardly moved beyond anecdotal evidence to systematically address the mechanisms driving their configuration and performance. This study is a step toward clarifying important unknowns about multipartner alliances by proposing and testing a model of multipartner alliance performance that involves two key mediating mechanisms, i.e., alliance scale and scope, that may explain how higher performance is achieved in these increasingly popular forms of organizing interorganizational efforts. The empirical context of the study is the motion picture industry where multipartner alliances have become exceedingly popular in recent decades. Empirical results partially support our proposed theory by demonstrating that alliance scale but not alliance scope mediates the relationship between the number of partners and alliance performance. Our results hold important implications for the growing literature on multipartner alliances.

“In-Crowds”: Entrance Waves and Performance Implications in Multipartner Alliance Growth

“In-Crowds”: Entrance Waves and Performance Implications in Multipartner Alliance Growth

Strength in Number: Scope, Scale, and Performance in Multipartner Alliances

The received wisdom is that multipartner alliances are increasingly favored by firms as means of creating larger pools of shared resources and capabilities. Yet, extant literature has hardly moved beyond anecdotal evidence to systematically address the mechanisms driving their configuration and performance. This study is a step toward clarifying important unknowns about multipartner alliances by proposing and testing a model of multipartner alliance performance that involves two key intermediary mechanisms, i.e., alliance scale and scope, that may explain how higher performance is achieved in these increasingly popular forms of organizing interorganizational efforts. The empirical context of the study is the motion picture industry where multipartner alliances have become exceedingly popular in recent decades. Empirical results are strongly supportive of our proposed theory and hold important implications for the growing literature on multipartner alliances.

Multipartner alliances among small firms promoted by external managers: Risk and governance mechanisms

External managers may be key to setting up and managing multi-partner alliances (MPAs) among small firms, but their role has not yet been integrated in previous literature on risk and governance structures. This longitudinal matched-pair case study investigates the dynamics between relational and performance risks and control-based and trust-based governance mechanisms, in MPAs promoted and managed by external managers. The integration of external managers allows the identification of different levels of trust and control among partners. This is also the case between such partners and the external manager who controls/trusts, who is controlled/trusted, and how this changes over time. Our results show that trust and control are influenced by both the external actor and partner’s risk perceptions; they also complement each other to manage high performance and relational risks in a dynamic process. We extend prior knowledge by showing that the analysis of control/trust complementarity must take into consideration both partner-partner and partner-manager relationships.

The Good Fight: Conflict and the Multipartner Alliance

A multipartner alliance experiences heightened conflict: The increased number of partners impedes communication and trust-building; and the strategic importance of the alliance’s projects often means the close and contentious involvement of external stakeholders. It is well-accepted that conflict is harmful to multipartner alliance performance, yet there exists a gap in understanding what specifically drives conflict between alliance partners and between the alliance and external stakeholders; and more importantly, what can lessen these instances of conflict. This study examines conflict through the lens of institutional diversity – a characteristic that is often necessary for alliances to build new capabilities or enter uncertain markets, but one that increases transaction costs. I posit that the conflict resulting from diversity is mitigated in instances when the financial structure of the alliance is highly asymmetrical – that is, a few partners in the alliance control a majority of financial resources. I test these hypotheses by creating a unique measure of the level of conflict experienced by the alliance through the coding of 345,000 pages of alliance documents across 2138 global alliances. Additionally, using over 25,000 interim status reports, I examine the performance of the alliance over time to empirically assess if conflict is as detrimental to performance as previously theorized. This research shows that the composition and structure of the multipartner alliance does matter for conflict and its prevention, and that not all fighting is indeed bad.

Binding Effects Of Interorganizational And Interpersonal Trust And Control During Project Failure

Although failure in joint projects is not uncommon, our knowledge of the impact of failure on the relationships between alliance partners and project participants remains limited. This study explores the conditions under which dyadic interpersonal and interorganizational ties in failed joint projects persist and reappear within a future project. We examine the role of past mutual experience and dyad similarity at the dyadic level, and team size and presence of a dominant partner at the team level, as moderators of the negative impact of project failure on the probability of any two partners collaborating again in the future. Implications for literatures on interpartner tie persistence and multipartner alliance dynamics are discussed.

Linking joint value creation to the interplay of competition and cooperation: A fuzzy set approach

The aim of this paper is to explore the link between joint value creation and the varying nature of simultaneity. Joint value creation is a central concept in cooperative strategies and more broadly in the strategic management field. When cooperating with competitors firms have value creation intent, but face conflicting logics arising from the simultaneous pursuit of cooperation and competition. This study adopts a two continua approach to analyze coopetition at both the department level and the organizational level.We explore the conjunctural causality based on two multipartner alliances in the pharmaceutical industry. The fsQCA allows detecting multiple causal paths between different intensities of cooperation and competition at both the department and the firm levels (conditions) to joint value creation (outcome). A key contribution of this paper is the conceptualization and empirical demonstration of the relation between the joint value creation and the coopetition intensity. Different types of coopetition engagements generate different outcomes in terms of joint value creation. The results show that high intensity of cooperation combined with high intensity of competition is significant for joint value creation. Unbalanced intensities of both elements, as well as low coopetition intensity, do not lead to joint value creation.

Political Risk and Alliance Diversity: A Two-Stage Model of Partner Selection in Multipartner Alliances

We examine how political risk influences partner selection in multipartner alliances, and consequently their diversity. We propose a two-stage theoretical model—first, a lead firm is selected to le...

Multi-Partner Alliance Diversity and Performance: The Dilemma of Value Creation and Appropriation

We systematically examine multi-partner alliance diversity and its performance consequences at both a multi-partner alliance level as well as at the partner firm level in the context of technologic...

Swimming in a Shark Tank: Effect of Multiple Corporate Venture Capitalists on a Venture’s Performance

This study examines the effect of multiple corporate venture capitals (CVCs) on a venture’s performance. I integrate the CVC literature with the multi-partner alliance literature and coopetition pe...

Coopetition and Multi-Partner Alliance Performance: The Role of Exploitation and Exploration Goals

This paper analyzes performance effects of different combinations of simultaneous cooperation and competition in multi-partner alliances (MPAs). Appropriating a resource-based perspective, we argue that the performance effects of these combinations depend on the alliance objective. We test our model with survey data from 114 MPAs in the emerging electric mobility sector in German-speaking countries, including organizations from various industries. We show that MPA performance is not only related to cooperative intensity, but also to its interplay with competitive forces. In addition, these interaction effects provide different results for exploitative and explorative MPAs. With our study we mainly contribute to the coopetition literature by enriching our so far limited knowledge on the success of MPAs in coopetition.

Network imprinting, learning and subsequent alliance tie formation

Does the form of a firm’s initial alliance – dyadic or multipartner – imprint the firm, and so shape the course of its subsequent alliance path? Does this subsequent path strengthen or weaken this imprinting? To examine these questions, we study patterns of alliance formation among firms comprising the German biotechnology industry over its complete history from 1996 to 2015. We find that while firms’ initial alliances indeed shape their subsequent alliance paths, as firms accumulate alliance experience along these paths, these experiences overwhelm the effect of imprinting from the initial alliance. Notably, the direction of imprinting and subsequent alliance effects for the focal firm depends on whether the firm’s initial alliance is dyadic (initial suppression reversed by subsequent experience) or multipartner (initial amplification reversed by subsequent experience). Thus, among the firms we study, alliance trajectories are shaped initially by their own initial alliances, but adapt to experience over time. Thus, we emphasize the significance of alliance imprinting and experience for understanding the unique dynamics of dyadic and multipartner alliances.

Interorganizational Diversity and the Formation of Partnerships in Lending Syndicates

We examine how interorganizational diversity measured across all the organizations participating in a multipartner alliance affects the formation of the multipartner banking syndicates that come together to finance the world's largest infrastructure projects. Previous studies have argued that interorganizational diversity negatively affects the formation of alliances because diversity increases the costs of coordination and the probability of conflict among the partners. We extend this research and argue that the negative relationship between interorganizational diversity and alliance formation is moderated by the institutional content in the country where the infrastructure project is built. Diverse syndicates allow partners to pool resources and knowledge that can be useful in managing local institutional risks. We compare 1,110 realized multipartner syndicates with 26,552 randomly generated unrealized syndicates to provide evidence that more diverse alliances are likely to form when the project is located in a high-risk institutional context than when the project is located in a low-risk country.

Clique to Win? Impact of Simmelian Ties on Collaborative Project Performance

Large infrastructure and public works projects require resources not often found in individual firms. Competitive bidding motivates contractors to form partnerships with subcontractors to win and implement such projects. Projects with no prior interactions between partners tend to develop structural holes, providing the coordinating contractors with brokering privileges. But through repeated project interactions communication and trust develops giving rise to cohesive clique networks and Simmelian ties. Instead of asymmetric power structures, cliques develop group norms and constrain opportunistic behavior by members. How do these two different collaborative arrangements engaging distinct network microstructures impact project outcomes? This study examines the role of network structures on collaborative project outcomes in a novel setting where multiple firms collaborate and compete to win and execute projects. Multi-year longitudinal network analysis of public infrastructure projects implemented in the State of California, reveal that compared to dyadic ties, Simmelian ties and network closure between team members help thwart external competition and internal opportunistic behavior leading to favorable project outcomes. Our empirical results contribute to network theory and multipartner alliance formation by examining the dynamics of inter-firm collaborative network structures and subsequent effect on collaborative work.

Governance dynamics in multi-partner R&D alliances

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the dynamics of contractual and relational mechanisms during different phases of multi-partner R&D alliances. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a longitudinal single case study to gain in-depth understanding of which governance mechanisms are best suited for different phases of alliance collaboration. Applying a retrospective strategy for data collection, three rounds of interviews were conducted with representatives of all partner firms. The data were complemented by documentary analysis of both internal documents and publicly available information. Findings The findings suggest that the use of governance mechanisms in multi-partner alliances depends on the characteristics of alliance phases. Relational governance is most important in the exploration and development phases, while the importance of contractual governance comes to the fore during the development and finalization phases. Despite the predominance of one type of mechanism, the findings support a complementary perspective of governance mechanisms. Research limitations/implications The results of a single case study offer limited generalizability and should thus be treated with caution. More cross-industry, cross-national studies should be conducted to verify the applicability of the findings to other industries, cultures and geographical contexts. Practical implications Managers should be aware that different phases of the alliance life cycle have different control and coordination needs, and should rely on different mechanisms during different phases of the alliance. Originality/value The authors have synthesized insights from various perspectives (transaction cost economics, organization theory, social exchange theory), and developed a multidisciplinary approach to multi-partner collaborations.

The Group Dynamics of Interorganizational Relationships

This paper examines how organizations collaborate with multiple partners, such as when they develop innovative and complex product platforms like smartphones, servers, and MRI machines that rely on technologies developed by organizations in three or more sectors. Research on multipartner alliances often treats them as a collection of independent dyads, neglecting the possibility of third-party influence and interference in dyads that can inhibit innovation. Using a multiple-case, inductive study of six groups, each composed of three organizations engaged in technology and product development in the computer industry, I examine the collaborative forms and processes that organizations use to innovate with multiple partners in groups. Groups that used the collaborative forms of independent parallel dyads or single unified triads generated mistrust and conflict that stemmed from expectations about third-party participation and overlapping roles and thus had low innovation performance and weaker ties. Other groups avoided these problems by using a dynamic collaboration process that I call “group cycling,” in which managers viewed their triad as a small group, decomposed innovative activities into a series of interlinked dyads between different pairs of partners, and managed third-party interests across time. By temporarily restricting participation to pairs, managers chose which ideas, technologies, and resources to incorporate from third parties into single dyads and ensured that the outputs of multiple dyads were combined into a broader innovative whole.

Group Dynamics and Interorganizational Relationships: Multipartner Collaborations in Innovation Ecosystems

This paper examines how organizations collaborate with multiple partners, such as when they develop innovative and complex product platforms like smartphones, servers, and MRI machines that rely on technologies developed by organizations in three or more sectors. Research on multipartner alliances often treats them as a collection of independent dyads, neglecting the possibility of third-party influence and interference in dyads that can inhibit innovation. Using a multiple-case, inductive study of six groups, each composed of three organizations engaged in technology and product development in the computer industry, I examine the collaborative forms and processes that organizations use to innovate with multiple partners in groups. Groups that used the collaborative forms of independent parallel dyads or single unified triads generated mistrust and conflict that stemmed from expectations about third-party participation and overlapping roles and thus had low innovation performance and weaker ties. Other groups avoided these problems by using a dynamic collaboration process that I call “group cycling,” in which managers viewed their triad as a small group, decomposed innovative activities into a series of interlinked dyads between different pairs of partners, and managed third-party interests across time. By temporarily restricting participation to pairs, managers chose which ideas, technologies, and resources to incorporate from third parties into single dyads and ensured that the outputs of multiple dyads were combined into a broader innovative whole.

Coopetition in Multi-Partner Alliances: Knowledge Flow between Strangers among Friends

Multi-partner alliances are often composed of friends (i.e., firms that have a history of collaboration) intermixed with strangers (i.e., firms that have no history of collaboration) creating built...

Patterns of knowledge conversion: effects on the degree of novelty in project-based alliances

Beneath other functions, alliances are understood to promote firms' innovative capacity. Nevertheless, what remains as unexplored is how specific deep-level inter-firm patterns of collaboration influence the degree to which alliance partners' products and services are novel. By drawing on the quality of the relationship and the degree of overlapping mental maps between the collaborating firms, the paper depicts a model of three major mechanisms that describe the form of learning in collaboration. By these distinct patterns: combination, diffusion, and genesis we also give insights in the tension between collaboration and competition in multi-partner product innovation alliances. The findings were derived from 25 case studies of project-based alliances between web-design agencies.

El uso y la elección de las alianzas multipartner: un estudio exploratorio

Studies on multipartner alliances (MPAs) with a limited number of partners remain sporadic since the literature has focused its attention mainly on alliance networks and consortia. This work aims to partially cover the existing gap, going more deeply into both the characteristics of MPAs with few partners and the factors determining their formation. Using a different theoretical approach, this study means to advance in the understanding and definition of the main factors that influence the choice between a dyadic alliance and an MPA. The analysis of the influence of these variables is carried out through an exploratory study in the empirical context of public works in Spain. This choice allows the evaluating of the behavior of firms and the factors that influence their decisions. Our results show that the value of the adjudication and the type of work influence the formation of both dyads and MPAs, but the results indicate that in an MPA this effect is strengthened and the search for a critical mass through cooperative behavior is more visible.