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Firms tend to transfer more knowledge in technology joint ventures compared to contractual technology agreements. Using insights from new institutional economics, this chapter explores to what extent the alliance governance association with interfirm knowledge transfer is sensitive to an evolving industry norm of collaboration connected to the logic of open innovation. The chapter examines 1,888 dyad-year observations on firms engaged in technology alliances in the U.S. information technology industry during 1980–1999. Using fixed effects linear models, it analyzes longitudinal changes in the alliance governance association with interfirm knowledge transfer, and how such changes vary in magnitude across bilateral versus multipartner alliances, and across computers, telecommunications equipment, software, and microelectronics subsectors. Increases in industry-level alliance activity during 1980–1999 improved the knowledge transfer performance of contractual technology agreements relative to more hierarchical equity joint ventures. This effect was concentrated in bilateral rather than multipartner alliances, and in the software and microelectronics rather than computers and telecommunications equipment subsectors. Therefore, an evolving industry norm of collaboration may sometimes make more arms-length governance of a technology alliance a credible substitute for equity ownership, which can reduce the costs of interfirm R&D. Overall, the chapter shows that the performance of material practices that constitute innovation ecosystems, such as interfirm technology alliances, may differ over time subject to prevailing institutional norms of open innovation. This finding generates novel implications for the literatures on alliances, open innovation, and innovation ecosystems.

The purpose of this paper is to study the mechanism through which decisions on the preferred governance mode of strategic technology alliances are made at the firm level.

The author constructed a value‐mediated governance model that is empirically tested through a survey of 57 strategic alliances in the Greek wireless services industry and estimated through a Structural Equation Modeling technique, namely Partial Least Squares.

Quasi‐hierarchy governance modes are preferred by firms assessing their current value as high, and lacking fear of partners' opportunistic behavior. Quasi‐market alliances are preferred by firms having high expectations for the future value of the alliance, and facing high endogenous uncertainty resulting from the existence of a competitive relationship with the partner.

While the resource and cost perspectives are founded on diverse assumptions on firms' ability to write complete contracts, their implications for the firms' decision‐making behaviour on the alliance governance issue seem to be complementary to those of the value perspective.

Transitional governance forms, quasi‐market alliances that evolve to quasi‐hierarchy alliances, seem to be preferred in emerging technology‐based environments.

The Expected Alliance Value concept is introduced to explain how exogenous uncertainty characterizing the environment of emerging technology‐based industries can influence the already investigated effects of the partner uncertainty and the firm's current value on the alliance governance preferences.

Prior studies have demonstrated the important role of coopetition in firms’ innovation. Based on the paradox perspective, this study aims to focus on technology transfer, the pre-innovation stage, to provide a supplementary understanding of the complementarity and contradictoriness of paradoxical coopetition, with the formal and informal governance mechanisms which are suitable with this understanding in coopetition.

This study conducted an original, multisource survey of 280 Chinese manufacturing firms. Hypotheses were tested through multiple regressions.

Coopetition has a positive impact on technology transfer between firms. Along with the increasing specificity of assets invested ex ante as a kind of formal governance mechanism, the relationship between coopetition and technology transfer becomes stronger. Meanwhile, inter-firm justice as an informal governance mechanism in the technology transfer process can be positively affected by coopetition between partners.

The study adds to the business-to-business coopetition literature on how to properly treat and use coopetition in technology transfer. Using the paradox perspective in the Chinese context, the findings emphasize the positive role of coopetition in the inter-firm technological exchange process, enriching the understanding of the complementary and contradictory features of paradoxical coopetition. To govern coopetitive relationships, the firms should also implement two fundamental governance mechanisms, that is, specialty asset and inter-firm justice.

This study aims to examine the effect of exploratory innovation offshoring on the level of hierarchical control and how this effect is moderated by transnational and dynamic environments.

This study draws on a sample of 148 Taiwanese multinational enterprises to examine their governance decisions on foreign investments.

Findings show that the more innovation offshoring is exploratory, the higher the level of hierarchical control will be used by multinational enterprises (MNEs) and that transnational and dynamic environments have different moderation effects on the positive exploratory innovation offshoring-hierarchical control relationship.

This study has two theoretical implications. First, this study extends the concept of complexity from a transaction attribute level (problem) to an environmental level (transnational environment) and finds that exploratory innovation offshoring and transnational environments interactively impact governance choices. Second, this study distinguishes between two sources of technological uncertainty – uncertainty due to transaction-level attributes (exploratory innovation offshoring) and external environments (dynamic environments) and finds that exploratory innovation offshoring and dynamic environments interactively impact governance choices.

The practical implication of this study lies in the simultaneous consideration of exploratory innovation offshoring and transnational/dynamic environments, which will allow international decision-makers to adjust/select the governance forms most appropriate for speedy responding to and handling environmental changes.

This study employs the theoretical perspectives of transaction cost economics (TCE) and resource-based view (RBV) to analyze and discuss the impact of operational environments – transnational and dynamic environments – on MNEs’ decisions on the governance structure for a given innovation offshoring.

This chapter focuses on the relationship between biotechnology start-ups and larger pharmaceutical corporations when they work as partners in innovation strategic alliances. For three decades, these companies have become major players in innovation in the health sector. This means that the development of many products is a result of the cooperation they carry out. However, due to the great differences between these companies, certain problems can often arise. More specifically, our analysis explores the perceptions of the achievement expected by each partner. This is an important aspect to determine the satisfaction of these firms among strategic alliance. The authors follow qualitative methods to address the topic, conducting personal interviews with managers of these companies. Our findings reveal the concrete facts that can prevent reaching the proposed goals of these partners as well as stress the crucial importance of the human aspect to mitigate potential problems.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive model for horizontal logistics collaboration (HLC), including the collaboration types, enablers, context influence and performance indicators.

First, this study discusses the currently available typologies and their limitations and defines relevant collaboration classification dimensions. Then, a detailed analysis of each dimension is conducted, including the identification of resulting collaboration types. Next, collaboration enablers and the context influence are discussed, as well as their implications on the logistics system, with a specific focus on agri-food supply chains (AFSCs). Additionally, adequate key performance indicators (KPIs) are selected to evaluate collaboration outcomes. Finally, the horizontal logistics collaboration concept (HLCC) is applied to an illustrative case study from AFSCs.

The results show that HLC is a complex strategy where several elements intervene in the creation of the collaboration scenario. The research also shows that the specific characteristics of AFSCs influence the partners' selection process and increase the importance of partners' similarity and information exchange.

The results provide managers with practical insights into the dynamic nature of HLC both at the operational and relational levels.

This paper provides a theoretical contribution by introducing a new comprehensive model for HLC and a practical typology that allows a deeper understanding of the mechanisms governing different HLC scenarios.

This study investigates the impact of agri-food supply chains (AFSCs) characteristics on the antecedents of horizontal logistics collaboration (HLC). Specifically, the study compares the relationship between collaboration activities and outcomes for companies in and outside AFSCs.

First, a survey was used to collect data from different industries. Second, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied to compare the measurement and structural models from different industry categories.

The results support the premise that collaboration improves trust and commitment in the relationship, which in turn enhance satisfaction. The results also show the existence of a minor influence of AFSCs characteristics on HLC antecedents, in the form of an indirect impact of dedicated investments on commitment.

The factors having a significant influence on the collaboration outcomes and their respective effects are generally similar across food and nonfood supply chains, providing opportunities for interdisciplinary and collaboration experiences.

This research contributes to the body of knowledge on interfirm collaboration by considering the specificities of HLC. It also highlights the importance of conducting contingency research on collaborative experiences, as firms from different industry contexts operate under distinct operational conditions.

Whereas incumbents often struggle to respond to disruptive innovations, start-up companies frequently face difficulties in establishing them within existing ecosystems. Phased acquisitions, that is, trajectories where an incumbent initially takes an equity stake in a start-up and subsequently acquires it, have been suggested as viable strategy to address these challenges. Whereas prior research has focused on the macro-level governance of such phased acquisitions, the authors explore the micro-level governance, examining how the existence of and changes in particular coordination and control mechanisms can shape the phased acquisition and its performance implications. Based on a longitudinal process study of a phased acquisition in which one start-up and one incumbent jointly developed and commercialized a disruptive technology, the authors develop a process model that (1) illuminates the existence of micro-level governance shifts and their impact on the decision to transition from equity alliance to acquisition, (2) identifies specific triggers of micro-level governance shifts, and (3) emphasizes the existence of counterintuitive micro-level governance spillovers across alliance and acquisition.

A key argument in transaction cost economics (TCE) is that transactions are aligned with governance structures so as to effect a discriminating – mainly transaction cost economizing – match (Williamson, 1991). The archetypical problem in TCE is the vertical integration or “make-versus-buy” decision, and the focus of transaction cost economizing in this context is on mitigation of “holdup” problems associated with investments in specific assets (Klein, Crawford, & Alchian, 1978; Williamson, 1985). However, this asset specificity condition in only one example (albeit a significant one) of a more general class of contractual hazards. Indeed, in his most recent discussion of the TCE agenda, Williamson (1996, p. 3) suggests that “identification, explication, and mitigation of contractual hazards – which take many forms, many of which long went unremarked – are central to the exercise.”

This paper aims to examine how the dynamic interplay of governance mechanisms of the university-firm R&D alliance reduces obstacles and enables the successful commercialization of research collaboration output.

A longitudinal case research and retrospective strategy were used to collect relevant data and information in the four university-and-firm alliance teams collaborating on R&D projects in Thailand during 2008-2014. In-depth interviews and meetings were conducted with representatives of all partners and R&D project teams.

The authors found that formal and informal control mechanisms act as complementary forms of governance. The informal control (trust) serves as the frame of intentions whether the formal control is interpreted as a guideline or a commitment. Both formal and informal control mechanisms must be put in place to successfully and sustainably develop collaborative research into a commercial product.

This study investigated four Thai government-funded research collaboration teams from a single industry. It would be worth investigating such research collaboration in other industries and those without any government funding.

This study applied an exploratory case research method which is rarely used in research on R&D alliance teams. It generates cross-functional insights on how to build trust in such R&D context, especially in an emerging economy.