| Abstract: | Although the resource‐based view of the firm has been written about extensively, the process by which firm assets are accumulated has not been explored in detail. That is, we know little about the micro‐level mechanisms by which assets are built, nor do we have sufficient empirical evidence why some assets are more difficult to imitate, trade, or substitute. In this exploratory paper, we attempt to provide a better understanding of asset accumulation via an empirical research program in pharmaceutical drug discovery. Using a combination of field research, discovery data from nine pharmaceutical firms, and data on 218 alliances involving new technologies for experimentation and testing, three causes affecting asset accumulation are identified and described. First, the difficulty of imitating a particular asset is affected by interdependencies with other assets. Second, trading of assets can be impeded by structural inertia in the core of a firm that is adopting the technology asset. And third, fully specifying all factors affecting imitation and trading ex ante is very difficult, if not nearly impossible, under conditions of rapid technological change. We propose that the complex interactions of these causes can give rise to imperfections in factor markets. Finally, implications for further research are discussed as well. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
