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Strategic alliances have a variety of governance structures that can be broadly classified as joint ventures, minority equity alliances, and contractual alliances. This paper seeks to empirically examine the roles of four key determinants of governance structure choice, namely, joint R&D and joint marketing objectives, alliance management experience, and international partners.

Several hypotheses are developed regarding governance structure choice and are tested with data from 765 alliances. A multinomial logistic regression (logit) model is used for statistical analysis, with five control variables.

All hypotheses are supported, so that the roles of alliance objectives, alliance management experience, and international partners are demonstrated as being significant as determinants of governance structure choice in alliances.

Limitations stem from the data being from a single source, one that also relies on press announcements that may be biased toward larger alliances.

Briefly, alliance managers should find it useful to assess the relative presence of the four determinants of structural choice studied in this investigation in order to make an informed selection of the appropriate governance structure.

The study contributes to the knowledge of the key determinants of governance structure choice in strategic alliances by examining empirically, with a large sample of alliances from various industries, the significant roles of four factors, namely, joint R&D and joint marketing objectives, alliance management experience, and international partners.

In order to reach their goals organizations need to establish relationships with other organizations, and cooperate with them. The success of such initiatives relies on the exchange of suggestions, advice, and information. This behavior has been labeled as ’docile’ (word borrowed from the work of the late Herbert Simon). This paper elaborates on determinants of docile behavior and introduces a model that is based on trust mechanisms. The theoretical model supports the claim that trust enhances the likelihood that docile behavior appears. The study also shows that organizations may benefit from higher levels of docility that increase the chances of success when cooperation and external partnerships are established.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and poly (phenyl p-hydroxybenzoate) (PHBA) on improving the torsional tribological behavior of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

This paper investigates the torsional tribological behavior of PTFE composites filled with h-BN and PHBA under different angular displacements with a plane-on-plane torsional friction tester. The worn surface of PTFE composites was investigated by using a scanning electron microscope.

The shape of T–Θ curves of PTFE composites was influenced by both content fillers and torsional angule. The material with a higher coefficient of sliding friction exhibited the larger torsional angle under which the torsional regime transited from a partial slip to a gross slip. PTFE composites filled with 20 weight per cent PHBA and 10 weight per cent h-BN showed the best anti-wear properties. The specific wear rate of composites exhibits a negative correlation with material hardness. The wear volume loss presents a positive correlation with friction dissipation energy. The specific wear rate of all composites decreased with increasing torsional angle. The dominant wear mechanism of pure PTFE was adhesive wear. The slight plastic flow and plowing occurred on the worn surfaces of PTFE composites because of the higher hardness of composites and the lubrication of h-BN particles with layer crystal structure.

This paper put forward a kind of PTFE composite with low torsional wear rate, which can be used in the sliding slewing bearing or the center plate of a bogie.

Most research has emphasized the interpersonal components of trust involved in establishing ecommerce relationships while limited attention has been paid on the technology and its interactions on e‐commerce relationships. This paper examines the impact of two forms of trust in e‐commerce relationships namely; technology trust relating to institutional structural assurances and security mechanisms embedded in e‐commerce technologies; and relationship trust referring to trading partners competent, predictably, reliability, and benevolence in the e‐commerce relationship. Based on the findings of a previous study that examined inter‐organizational dyads in business‐to‐business e‐commerce participation, we identify and illustrate how e‐commerce relationships evolve applying four modes in e‐commerce relationships namely; learning, monitoring, collaborating and distancing modes. We develop a number of propositions to facilitate empirical testing and indicate the framework’s key implications for future research and managerial practice.

Although the benefits of strategic alliances are well documented, whether strategic alliances can be a viable entry strategy option for small and medium‐size enterprises (SMEs) to successfully penetrate markets held by major incumbent suppliers is less clear. In this paper, strategic alliances are shown to be an effective entry‐cum‐deterrence strategy for SMEs to successfully penetrate markets that are well established and dominated by major corporations. In addition, the conditions under which SMEs can use strategic alliances as an entry strategy without restricting themselves to target only those markets ignored by bigger firms are identified. In terms of methodology, this paper follows a deductive approach – one based on game theory, to examine explicitly the reactions of bigger firms to the entry of SMEs into their markets, specifically taking into account the resource limitations faced by SMEs. To verify that the theoretical arguments presented are consistent with practice, two cases of the use of strategic alliances by SMEs as an entry strategy to penetrate markets dominated by major corporations are examined. The practices and experiences of these SMEs were found to be consistent with the theoretical arguments presented here.

This study examined factors influencing the growth of new firms in metal‐based manufacturing and business services in Finland over the three first years of their operation. The factors affecting the growth of a new firm were found in the start‐up phase, in the characteristics of the entrepreneur and of the firm, and in the firm’s environment. Growth was especially explained by the know‐how and changes in the strategic behaviour of the entrepreneur and by the firm’s environment. New firmshad equal chances for growth irrespective of their locality. Instead, growth was affected by changes in a firm’s competitive situation, and, especially in the more developed service centres, growth was dependent on a firm’s expanding its market area in the first three years of operation. The results also clearly indicated that in a small specialist firm personal relationships formed an important part of the entrepreneur’s management capabilities.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of entrepreneurial thinking systems on risk‐taking propensity and entrepreneurial behavior.

The research was conducted using an original data set of 231 entrepreneurs in China. The data were analyzed through regressing models.

It is found that, in China, the experiential system has a positive impact on risk‐taking propensity yet a negative impact on entrepreneurial behavior; however, the rational system has a negative impact on risk‐taking propensity yet a positive impact on entrepreneurial behavior.

This paper focuses on entrepreneurs in a specific geographical region, China. Despite the hypothesis, the impact of thinking systems on entrepreneurial behavior highlights the importance of the rational system.

Research of entrepreneurs by foreign scholars has focused on the risk‐perception perspective, and the only national research is based on the authors' subjective experience and lacks an empirical basis. Based on Western theory, this paper empirically studies the impact of entrepreneurial thinking systems on risk‐taking propensity and entrepreneurial behavior in China.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and articulate the profile of handicraft entrepreneurs operating in the Maboneng precinct of Johannesburg, South Africa.

This study is qualitative in nature – implementing a phenomenology through which cases of four handicraft entrepreneurs are developed.

Handicraft entrepreneurs in Maboneng possess a spiritually motivated profile that does not allow them to be neatly characterised in the profiles of the literature.

This study contributes to addressing the dearth of knowledge in the literature on the profile of entrepreneurs in Africa. It provides insights on the spiritual motivation of artisanal entrepreneurs in particular who represent a part of the largest proportion of African small-scale entrepreneurial activity.

The purpose of this paper is to develop the concept of a high performance alliance macro-culture as a multilevel construct reflective of resilient collaborative systems of exchange within strategic alliances and explores the distinct capabilities of this multilevel approach in predicting alliance outcomes.

The hypotheses developed in this study are tested using primary data collected from 650 members of 15 non-profit organizations in two multi-organizational collaborative networks. Considering the multilevel nature of the study the structural hypotheses are tested using a multilevel confirmatory factor analysis and the predictive hypotheses are tested using multilevel structural equation modeling.

All but one structural hypothesis are supported and all predictive hypotheses are supported suggesting that a multilevel macro-cultural conceptualization is effective in exploring the relationship between collaborative exchange systems and their outcomes.

Limitations stem from the generalizability of the data collected as the alliances formed by non-profit firms may not be wholly reflective of the alliance structures and goals of other firm types.

This study primarily contributes to multilevel study of strategic alliances and the study of collaborative norms and structures of allied groupings. The results of this study lend support to the importance of taking a network governance perspective and illustrate the limitations of traditional single-level approaches when studying interfirm collaborative networks and structural resilience therein.

This case asks students to step into the role of Adalberto Flores, co-founder and CEO of Kueski, one of the first companies to develop a proprietary algorithm for online loan approval in Mexico. Mexico lacks a standardized credit scoring system, making it difficult for many Mexicans to get approved for a loan or credit card. This, together with the fact that Mexicans generally do not trust traditional banks, makes Mexico an attractive opportunity for fintech companies. Growth, however, could require fintech companies to partner with traditional banks. Students assume the role of Flores to think about the benefits and risks associated with a partnership between Kueski and traditional banks. Students are also challenged to compare the structure of U.S. financial services markets with the Mexican structure and consider the implications on the sustainability of fintech companies in the two markets. The teaching note analyzes the Mexican financial market and the benefits and threats it holds for fintech companies, and outlines a framework for evaluating the risk associated with partnerships.