Corporate collaborative activity: exploratory evidence on the determinants of vehicle choice

This exploratory study analyses the factors that affect the selection of a contract, alliance or joint venture for collaborative activity. The findings, based on a sample of 441 announcements made by UK firms, reveal that although no unequivocal support exists for either the agency- or transaction cost economics-based explanations of vehicle choice, the decision does appear to have a strategic element. In addition, the results suggest that while the three forms of inter-firm arrangement are often viewed as points on a continuum, the key decision relates to whether or not to establish a joint venture. In the light of these initial findings, future research might most usefully investigate decision-making of this type on a case-by-case basis, rather than attempting to induce pervasive explanations of the process.