Complementarity,status similarity and social capital as drivers of alliance formation

Using data on U.S. investment banking firms’ syndication in underwriting corporate stock offerings during the 1980s, this study explores the factors that drive alliance formation between two specific firms. We compare resource complementarity, status similarity, and social capital as a basis of alliance formation. The findings indicate that the likelihood of investment banks’ alliance formation is positively related to the complementarity of their capabilities, as well as their status similarity. Social capital arising from banks’ direct and indirect collaborative experiences also plays a very important role in alliance formation. The number of deals given by a lead bank to a potential partner over the past three years has an inverted U‐shaped relationship to the probability that the lead bank will invite the potential partner to form an alliance. Our findings indicate that status similarity and social capital have a stronger effect on alliance formation in initial public offering deals than in secondary offering deals, as the former are more uncertain than the latter. Using these findings, we discuss the role of complementarity, status similarity, and social capital in alliance formation. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bridging and bonding forms of social capital in a regional strategic network

Research on networks emphasizes the importance of bonds between actors. Social reciprocity strengthens network bonds, which is assumed to have positive effects on business relationships between firms. However, the importance of weak ties is also stressed in network research. An important policy issue is therefore if more attention should be devoted to the creation of bridges to other social groups and loosening bonds between network actors. The difficulty in doing so is described and analyzed in this article focusing on a regional strategic network, which is viewed in three network perspectives. Interview data were collected from all participating managers in a regional strategic network in 2004 and 2010. The findings shed light upon the paradox of using a regional strategic network to counteract over-embeddedness and freeing the involved actors from existing network lock-ins instead of further strengthening such social institutions.     

Interorganizational alliances and the performance of firms: a study of growth and innovation rates in a high‐technology industry

This paper investigates the relationship between intercorporate technology alliances and firm performance. It argues that alliances are access relationships, and therefore that the advantages which a focal firm derives from a portfolio of strategic coalitions depend upon the resource profiles of its alliance partners. In particular, large firms and those that possess leading‐edge technological resources are posited to be the most valuable associates. The paper also argues that alliances are both pathways for the exchange of resources and signals that convey social status and recognition. Particularly when one of the firms in an alliance is a young or small organization or, more generally, an organization of equivocal quality, alliances can act as endorsements: they build public confidence in the value of an organization's products and services and thereby facilitate the firm's efforts to attract customers and other corporate partners. The findings from models of sales growth and innovation rates in a large sample of semiconductor producers confirm that organizations with large and innovative alliance partners perform better than otherwise comparable firms that lack such partners. Consistent with the status‐transfer arguments, the findings also demonstrate that young and small firms benefit more from large and innovative strategic alliance partners than do old and large organizations. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A theory of global strategic alliances: The case of the global auto industry

The theory articulated in this paper suggests that the desire to reduce demand and competitive uncertainty are two separate, important motives for alliance formation. Taking this as a starting point, we predict the configuration of horizontal alliances that we might expect to observe within an industry when firms experience these uncertainties to different degrees. An empirical test of this theory using data from the global auto industry yields results consistent with the view (1) that alliances are a device for reducing both the uncertainties that arise from unpredictable demand conditions and those that arise from competitive interdependence, and (2) that variation of demand uncertainty and competitive uncertainty across firms explains differentials in both the intensity and structure of their horizontal alliance activity.     

Use of social capital among Russian managers of a new generation

Dynamic changes in the Russian political economy during the 1990s led to a unique combination of low levels of social capital at the general (state) level and very high levels of social capital at the interpersonal level. This research uses the three dimensions of social capital as outlined by Nahapiet and Ghoshal [Nahapiet, J. and Ghoshal, S. (1998) Social capital, intellectual capital and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23, 242-266.], to investigate the operation of business networks within Russia. Focusing on a generation of Russian business managers who had minimal exposure to the previous regime and who experienced western education/business practices, this study illustrates one snapshot of social capital in Russia in 2004. Results highlight how this generation of business managers operates and how they conduct their business networks. It is expected that there will be changes in Russian business networks, as formalized legal systems become stronger and the new generation of Russian managers, who have had little exposure to socialist systems and nomenklatura emerge.     

Multidimensional social capital as a boost or a bar to innovativeness

Innovation does not only demand new ideas, financial resources and knowledge of supplier and user systems, but is also influenced by social capital which has an impact on the innovativeness in business networks. However, social capital is often vague, at times described as a “catch-all notion”. In this paper definitions of social capital are suggested to support the management of innovation in networks. Three dimensions of social capital are applied in a case study of a regional strategic network – the socio-economic, the structural and the actor-oriented dimensions – while focusing on the last one. Data were collected at two points in time, at the start of the regional strategic network in 2004 and at the end of the project in 2010. The application of the concepts and the comparison between these two points in time highlight the influence of social capital and how it can hinder or be used to promote innovation processes.     

The Importance of Social Capital to the Management of Multinational Enterprises: Relational Networks Among Asian and Western Firms

Social capital is an important concept for multinational firms. Firms operating in global markets rarely have adequate resources to compete effectively in global markets; they access the needed resources through formal and informal relationships with other firms. The cultures in Asian countries have emphasized relationships much more strongly than Western firms. Thus, relational capital, based on guanxi (China), kankei (Japan) and inmak (Korea), provides the framework for business dealings in many Asian countries. As a result, the social capital of many Asian firms gives them a potential competitive advantage in global markets. Western firms must develop social capital and learn to manage relational networks to gain and sustain a competitive advantage in global markets. Western firms can learn how to develop and manage social capital from Asian firms. Alternatively, social capital has some disadvantages. Firms are limited by their networks and thus experience opportunity costs and path dependence. Additionally, while Asian firms often have strong network ties in their domestic markets, they have to develop many more ties globally to operate effectively in global markets. As a result, the development and management of social capital has become of critical importance for competitive advantage in global markets.     

The role of strategic alliances in high-technology new product development

The authors examined 905 new product innovations introduced since September 1988 to determine the influences on product innovativeness, with a specific interest in strategic alliances, or cooperative strategies. Findings suggest that single firms, horizontal cooperative strategies, small and mixed'sized firms, biochemical industries, cross-industry product offerings, cross-industry cooperations, the progression of time, and European firms tend to indicate significantly more innovative products. Implications are proposed for business practitioners and researchers with specific application to the diffusion of innovation.     

从社会科学的观点看电力企业发展——一个基于社会资本的视角

电力供给与需求的背后是社会结构等因素,经济学需要研究以利益关系和利益矛盾为核心的社会生产关系。社会关系是电力企业发展的深层根基和逻辑起点,电力企业生存和发展有赖于其获得、重构和保持社会资源的能力。社会资本理论将企业理论和我们对于隐含在市场分配过程背后的社会机制的理解联系起来,为电力企业发展开辟了一个独特的分析视角。     

Board social capital and excess CEO returns

Excess CEO returns refer to CEO financial returns in excess of shareholder returns. How do boards rein in excess CEO returns? Introducing a social capital view of board monitoring, we suggest that boards face two competing normative pressures—corporate elite norms and monitoring norms. How boards conform to such normative pressures for controlling excess CEO returns is affected by their external and internal social capital. Further, we substantiate our arguments by showing that powerful CEOs and institutional investors may facilitate or constrain the normative pressures existing in the social network and alter the effects of board social capital on excess CEO returns. Data from a sample of U.S. corporations listed on the Standard and Poor's 1,500 index from 1999 to 2010 largely support our framework. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Venture capital in China: A view from Europe

This article provides commentary on the analysis of venture capital in China by Ahlstrom, Bruton, and Yeh (Venture capital in China: Past, present, and future. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 2007). The article considers issues relating to the scope of venture capital and private equity, the nature of venture capital and private equity organizations, the life-cycle process of VC investing, internationalization, and foreign venture capital firms. The paper identifies areas for future research and compares the Chinese VC context with those in Western Europe and Central and Eastern Europe.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot? the reverse transfer of knowledge through mobility ties

While mobility's effect on knowledge transfer to firms that hire mobile employees is well demonstrated, we choose to explore mobility's effect on knowledge transfer to firms that lose these employees. Focusing on this ‘outbound mobility’ allows us to isolate effects of social mechanisms associated with mobility. We find that semiconductor firms losing employees are more likely to subsequently cite patents of firms hiring these employees, suggesting that mobility‐driven knowledge flows are bidirectional. In addition, the outbound mobility effect is pronounced when mobility occurs between geographically distant firms, but attenuates for geographically proximate firms since other redundant knowledge channels exist within regions. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

企业间领导力:一种理解联盟企业行为与战略的新视角

资源异质性所引起的联盟企业之间的非对等地位,使得少数企业拥有了凌驾于联盟伙伴之上的领导能力,即核心企业对成员企业的影响力,本文称之为企业间领导力。企业间领导力的形成伴随着核心企业网络位置向网络中心迁移,并最终取得网络认同。网络能力构成了企业间领导力的基础,而网络结构和网络规则能够促进能力向领导力转化。在一致性认知和合法性认知的作用下,基于网络能力而形成的网络主导地位得以被联盟伙伴接受,最终催生企业间领导力。基于此,中国企业联盟建构策略包括:发展系统设计能力、深化迂回生产链的技术分工、强化联盟企业间非对称性依赖关系。     

Structural social capital evolution and knowledge transfer: Evidence from an Irish pharmaceutical network

Businesses are becoming increasingly involved in collaboration networks to access external knowledge and sustain innovation. In this context, knowledge and knowledge transfer are considered an important source of innovation and competitive advantage. Social capital theory offers a theoretical approach to explain how individuals, groups, and organizations manage relationships and access knowledge resources. The structural dimension of social capital has stimulated debate regarding optimal network configuration to achieve innovation. The extant literature suggests network structures evolve from a bridging configuration to a bonding configuration without examining the details of how the evolution occurs within the network and its stage-by-stage impact on knowledge transfer. This study explores this relationship by analyzing the evolution of a successful Irish pharmaceutical network involving organizations from industry and academia. This research setting encompasses a rare network configuration in an industry known for its lack of collaboration among competing firms. Findings show that structural holes provide access to a set of complementary and heterogeneous knowledge. However, for such knowledge to be exploited, the network configuration has to evolve from a sparse network (small in size and characterized by weak ties across multiple organizational networks), to a large and cohesive network configuration characterized by high levels of commitment, trust, fine-grained information exchange, and joint problem solving. Mechanisms crucial to this evolution include consistently-scheduled meetings, training to communicate tacit knowledge, wide diffusion of knowledge through an on online portal, and relationship specific investments designed to safeguard intellectual property. Surprisingly, industry members appear to transition to a cohesive network faster than do academic members.     

Learning: The interface of quality management and strategic alliances

In this paper, we investigate the practice of quality management in strategic alliances. By employing a relational view of inter-organizational competitive advantage, the paper addresses the concept of quality management in strategic alliances and networks. We argue that institutional/network relationships influence the practice of quality within a network. In that regard, firms that have adopted quality management practices are more effective in managing and coordinating their interactions with other firms in the network, which results in their enhanced learning capability within the alliance.The proposed framework recognizes the role of trust and cooperative learning as critical factors that affect the success of strategic alliances. It has been argued that firms within an alliance need to achieve the paradox of control and learning. We examine the role of trust as a control mechanism in strategic alliances and address the importance of cooperative learning within alliances. Several hypotheses have been proposed and future research has been outlined.