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To maintain and enhance innovation performance, many firms nowadays look for resources from external sources such as strategic alliances and regional network embeddedness. While considering the important interdependencies among different alliances, research has established an alliance portfolio perspective. From an alliance portfolio perspective, firms can consciously configure the dimensions of their alliance portfolios such as partner characteristics, relational properties, or structural properties. However, within the context of alliance portfolio configuration, the role of regional networks has been largely overlooked. As most high-tech firms are regionally clustered, this is an important research gap. In addressing this gap, this study explores the link between regional network density, alliance portfolio configuration, and its contribution to firm innovation performance. We examine how regional network density and alliance partner diversity influences firm level innovation output. We also investigate the moderating effect of overall network partner status and partner diversity on the link between regional network density and innovation performance. Our empirical evidence is derived from a longitudinal quantitative study of 1,233 German biotechnology firms. We find that regional network density and alliance partner diversity has an inverted U-shape effect on firm level innovation performance. However, overall network status as well as alliance partner diversity negatively moderates the link between regional network density and innovation output. Thus, our study contributes to a better understanding of the link between regional networks, alliance portfolio configuration, and firm level innovation performance.

In recent years, many new and interesting business models for Internet-based selling have emerged with the advent of electronic commerce, one of which is the Internet-based group-buying. Since group-buying can be quickly built and removed, and the consumers can pay a lower price for the product through it, the group-buying can be a new online promotion form. In this chapter we build up a two-period pricing model for a supply chain when a supply chain member utilizes group-buying program to promote its products. In detail, we consider a supply chain consisting of a supplier and a retailer, where the supplier or retailer may launch a group-buying program to promote the products via a group-buying web site in the promotion period (i.e., the first period), as well as the supplier may sell its products through the retailer traditionally in both periods. Utilizing game theory, we derive the equilibrium decisions of the two supply chain members in three different scenarios, that is, (i) there is no group-buying program, (ii) the supplier launches a group-buying program, and (iii) the retailer launches a group-buying program. Analysis of the equilibrium decisions illustrates the following results: (i) both, the supplier and the retailer, will set low prices in the promotion period and high prices in the regular period; (ii) this trend will be enhanced when a group-buying program occurs, especially when such program is launched by the supplier; (iii) while the retailer can always benefit from a group-buying program, the supplier’s profit may be reduced under certain conditions; and (iv) in spite of the fact that the supplier’s profit may be damaged by the group-buying program, when the two supply chain members decide to launch a group-buying program, the unique equilibrium is that the supplier will launch such a program.

Extant research posits that mergers and acquisition (M&As) do not create value. Still many firms adopt expansion strategies such as alliances, joint ventures (JVs), and M&As to grow and enhance their performance. Through performing a meta-analysis on 204 papers that assess the relationship between the three most prevalent expansion strategies formed by firms, alliances, JVs, and M&As and their different substantive and symbolic performance effects, this study contributes in two ways. First, it becomes clear that alliances and M&As enhance a firm’s substantive performance, while no positive performance effect is observed for JVs. In turn, all three expansion strategies boost a firm’s symbolic performance in terms of its legitimacy and status. Second, a distinction between their effects on a firm’s substantive performance in terms of their market-based and accounting-based performance shows that alliances and M&As both positively contribute to a firm’s accounting-based performance, while only the former spurs a firm’s market-based returns. This indicates that M&As have more long-term accounting-based performance effects compared to alliances and JVs, which suggests that in the long-term firms do best by expanding through M&As.

The rate of alliance formation by firms has greatly increased over the past two decades. Congruently, firm interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives has also increased. Signaling theory suggests that firms may be increasing their CSR strategies in an effort to signal their willingness to operate within social mores. However, firms are faced with the problem of how to communicate their social commitment objectively to stakeholders. We argue that firms are forming CSR alliances in an attempt to signal an objective message to stakeholders concerning their commitment to CSR. To provide insight into these explanations, we compare the Total CSR performance (TCSR) scores of firms that form CSR alliances with those firms that do not. We control for firm size, leverage, profitability, and industry. We find that firms that form CSR alliances generally have higher TCSR scores, which suggests that one of the reasons that firms form these alliances is to publicize their stronger social and environmental records to stakeholders.

The tourism has become more responsible in terms of tourists choosing environmentally friendly alternatives and resorting to green options in food, travel, and purchase. In view of this, “ecotourism” appears as a sustainable means of promoting tourism in the less explored areas which are endowed with esthetic beauty of nature. Ecotourism is based on the pillars of biodiversity, wildlife, natural wealth, rivers, and authentic cuisine. The proposed chapter is an attempt to explore the ecotourism potential of the Southern Rajasthan in India which has a rich heritage of natural wealth and cultural diversity.

The potential for resource combinations to have adverse consequences for acquiring firms is often overlooked in research. However, considering potential inimical resources can explain target and acquiring firm actions across the phases (evaluation, completion, and integration) of an acquisition. The authors outline how managers deal with inimical resources in acquisitions. Specifically, during evaluation, due diligence offers managers from acquiring firms the opportunity to avoid potential inimical resources by abandoning an acquisition. During integration, inimical resources can be dealt with either by limiting integration, or with planned or unplanned divestment. As a result, inimical resources explain observed actions and provide a context for making and improving corporate restructuring decisions.

We discuss recent developments in real options theory and its applications to strategic management research, examine the potential difficulties in implementing real options in theory and practice, and propose several areas for future research. Our review shows that real options theory has provided substantial insights into investment and exit decisions as well as into the choice of investment modes. In addition, extant research studies have contributed significantly to our understanding of whether and how organizations can benefit from real options. Future research that addresses difficulties in applications will further advance both real options theory and practice in strategic management. We call for future generations of research to enhance the impact of real options as an emerging dominant conceptual lens in strategic management.