Rothaermel, Frank T. and Boeker, Warren (2007) Old Technology Meets New Technology: Complementarities, Similarities, and Alliance Formation. [Industry Studies Working Paper:2007-25]
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Abstract
Alliance formation is commonplace in many high-technology industries experiencing radical technological change, where established firms use alliances with new entrants to adapt to technological change, while new entrants benefit from the ability of established players to commercialize the new technology. Despite the prevalence of these alliances, we know little about how these firms choose to ally with specific firms given the range of possible partners they may choose from. This study explores factors that lead to alliance formation between pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. We focus on the alliance tie as the unit of analysis and argue that dyadic complementarities and similarities directly influence alliance formation. We then introduce a contingency model in which the positive effect of complementarities and similarities on alliance formation is moderated by the age of the new technology firm. We draw theoretical attention to the intersection between levels of analysis, in particular, the intersection between dyadic and firm-level constructs. We find that a pharmaceutical and a biotechnology firm are more likely to enter an alliance based on complementarities when the biotechnology firm is younger. Another noteworthy contribution is the finding that proxies for broad capabilities appear to be at least as, if not more, effective in predicting alliance formation compared to fine-grained science and technology-related indicators, like patent cross citations or patent common citations. We conclude by suggesting that future studies on alliance formation need to take into account interactions across levels; for example, how dyadic capabilities interact with firm-level factors.
| Industry Studies Series #: | 2007-25 |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Industry Studies Working Paper |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | industry studies, industry studies working paper, industry studies association, industry studies research |
| ID Code: | 157 |
| Deposited By: | Mr Robin Peterson |
| Deposited On: | 24 Feb 2010 16:03 |
| Last Modified: | 07 Jun 2010 10:45 |
Available Versions of this Item
- Old Technology Meets New Technology: Complementarities, Similarities, and Alliance Formation. (deposited 24 Feb 2010 11:07)
- Old Technology Meets New Technology: Complementarities, Similarities, and Alliance Formation. (deposited 24 Feb 2010 16:03) [Currently Displayed]
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