Contract Law and the Governance of Inter‐Firm Technology Partnerships – An Analysis of Different Modes of Partnering and Their Contractual Implications*

abstract This paper studies some major legal implications of inter‐firm technology partnering through equity joint ventures, non‐equity partnerships, and licensing contracts. These different partnerships are placed within the classical and relational contracting perspectives, while also considering intellectual property rights issues. Samples of contracts of partnerships in bioscience, fine chemicals, biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals are analysed, in detail, with reference to the distribution of property rights, major contractual clauses, and measures for conflict resolution. Equity joint ventures and non‐equity partnerships are found to largely follow a relational contracting perspective, while licensing contracts are governed by a classical contracting perspective.     

Does the Starting Point Matter? The Literature‐Driven and the Phenomenon‐Driven Approaches of Using Corporate Archival Data in Academic Research

Despite recent and perhaps myopic criticisms of archival data with regard to supporting causal theoretical claims, it would be folly to disregard the exploratory and grounded theory development potential that these substantial, rich, and timely archives hold. The question then becomes one of how academics might tap into such archives. This paper considers this issue from a pragmatic perspective, drawing on the experiences of various academics with extensive experience in constructing data‐access relationships with industry. With the support of scholars who published their work using corporate archival data in leading academic journals, we suggest a phenomenon‐driven approach paralleled with the traditional literature‐driven approach in academic studies. This paper highlights best practices, pitfalls, and future opportunities, with the aim of serving as a guide for intrepid scholars interested in capitalizing on contemporary big data initiatives supported at many firms.     

Expert opinion versus actual transaction evidence in the valuation of non-market amenities

Actual property values are overwhelmingly employed as a dependent variable in hedonic pricing models. Yet, assessed property values are generally more readily available than actual sales values and have, in some studies, been used in lieu of market prices. In this study, we compare estimates of different non-market amenity values based on actual transactions and assessed values. We estimate a Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) model with two hedonic price equations, one with actual market values as the dependent variable and the other with assessed property values, and compare the resulting estimates of shadow prices for open space amenities. We also take into account spatial autocorrelation and combine Method of Moment estimates of the spatial parameters in both equations to create our test statistic. The results indicate that we cannot accept the hypothesis that the impacts of open space on property values are the same for actual sales and assessed values. Moreover, we do observe some differences between the distributions of assessed versus sales values, although the difference between the sizes of open space effects measured within the two equations is rather limited. Thus, while this one study is insufficient to enable one to draw definitive conclusions, there remains the possibility that policy makers cannot reliably base decisions on amenity values obtained from a hedonic model using assessed values.     

Farmland Preservation Verdicts—Rezoning Agricultural Land in British Columbia

The Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) in British Columbia (BC), Canada, is a provincial zoning scheme designed to protect agricultural land from development. Since 1973, landowners have not been permitted to use ALR land for nonagricultural purposes, prompting some to seek recovery of development option value by applying for exclusion from the ALR. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and a binary choice (logit) model, this study examines factors that impact the acceptance of ALR exclusion applications. With data from two regions in southwestern BC, we find that applications are more likely to be approved when the land is closer to the major highway, has a smaller parcel size, consists of a smaller portion of the total parcel area, or has poorer quality soils. Therefore, as intended by public policy, agricultural capability is a key determinant in exclusion decisions, retaining properties of greater agricultural value in the ALR. Even though public opinion has suggested otherwise, the political party in power at the time of the decision was only a weak factor, mostly moderated by the number of applications in a given year. A spatial‐effects model found no evidence of spatial autocorrelation, supporting the conclusions drawn from the nonspatial model estimations. La réserve de terres agricoles de la Colombie‐Britannique (ALR), au Canada, est un plan de zonage provincial destinéà protéger les terres agricoles contre le développement urbain. Depuis 1973, les propriétaires fonciers ne peuvent utiliser les terres de la réserve à des fins non agricoles, ce qui incite certains à tenter de récupérer une certaine valeur d’option en faisant une demande d’exclusion. À l’aide de la technologie des systèmes d’information géographique (SIG) et d’un modèle de choix binaire (type logit), nous avons examiné les facteurs qui influencent l’acceptation des demandes d’exclusion. À l’aide de données sur deux régions du sud‐ouest de la Colombie‐Britannique, nous avons observé que les demandes d’exclusion sont plus susceptibles d’être acceptées lorsque les terres sont situées en bordure d’une route importante, sont de petite taille, ne représentent qu’une portion d’une superficie plus grande ou présentent des sols de mauvaise qualité. En conséquence, comme le prévoit la politique du gouvernement, la capacité agricole est un facteur clé dans les décisions d’exclusion qui permet de conserver les propriétés de grande valeur agricole dans la réserve. Bien que l’opinion publique indique le contraire, le parti politique au pouvoir au moment de la décision ne constituait qu’un faible facteur, principalement réduit par le nombre de demandes au cours d’une année donnée. Un modèle d’effets spatiaux n’a pas réussi à montrer l’existence d’une autocorrélation spatiale appuyant les conclusions tirées des estimations du modèle non spatial.     

Understanding behavioral sources of process variation following enterprise system deployment

This paper extends the current understanding of the time-sensitivity of intent and usage following large-scale IT implementation. Our study focuses on perceived system misfit with organizational processes in tandem with the availability of system circumvention opportunities. Case study comparisons and controlled experiments are used to support the theoretical unpacking of organizational and technical contingencies and their relationship to shifts in user intentions and variation in work-processing tactics over time. Findings suggest that managers and users may retain strong intentions to circumvent systems in the presence of perceived task-technology misfit. The perceived ease with which this circumvention is attainable factors significantly into the timeframe within which it is attempted, and subsequently impacts the onset of deviation from prescribed practice and anticipated dynamics.