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Strategic Alliances

Strategic Alliances Although some theorists suggest that the resource-based view could be a new theory of the firm, it is still part of a developing paradigm in strategy research (Amit & Schoemaker, 1993; Barney, 1991; Conner, 1991; Conner & Prahalad, 1996; Grant, 1996; Mahoney & Pandian, 1992; Mehra, 1996; Miller & Shamsie, 1996; Roth, 1995). The usefulness and richness of the paradigm need to be demonstrated in a variety of strategy areas. Indeed, researchers are still in the phase of accumulating applications of the resource-based view. For example, Peteraf (1993) shows that sustainable differences in firm profitability that cannot be attributed to industrial differences can be better explained by the resourcebased view. Our understanding of diversification strategy is also enhanced because the resource-based view strongly argues for strategic relatedness within a conglomerate (Chatterjee & Wernerfelt, 1991). Harrison, Hitt, Hoskisson, and Ireland (1991) examined the performance of mergers and acquisitions through a resource -based perspective. Global strategy, technological strategy, and strategic regulation have also been studied by applying the resource-based view (Collis, 1991; Leonard-Barton, 1992; Maijoor & Van Witteloostuijn, 1996). One area that remains under-explored in the literature is the resource-based view of strategic alliances, even though such alliances are rapidly increasing in importance in today's competitive landscape (Das & Teng, in press; Doz & Hamel, 1998; Gomes-Casseres, 1996; Yoshino & Rangan, 1995). A resource-based view seems particularly appropriate for examining strategic alliances because firms essentially use alliances to gain access to other firms' valuable resources. Thus, firm resources provide a relevant basis for studying alliances. The few studies that have applied the resource-based perspective to strategic alliances cover only limited aspects (e.g., Blodgett, 1991; Eisenhardt & Schoonhoven, 1996; Kogut, 1988; Mowery, Oxley, & Silverman, 1998; Rouse & Daellenbach, 1999; Tyler & Steensma, 1995, 1998; Varadarajan & Cunningham, 1995). Focusing exclusively on the resource-based view of strategic alliances, Eisenhardt and Schoonhoven (1996) found essentially that alliances are more likely to be formed when bot h firms are in vulnerable strategic positions (i.e., in need of resources) or when they are in strong social positions (i.e., possess valuable resources to share). Other researchers have tackled only selected aspects of alliances, such as organizational knowledge (Kogut, 1988) and international business (Blodgett, 1991; Lyles & Salk, 1997). Thus, a general resource-based theory of strategic alliances has yet to emerge. Our purpose here is to develop a more encompassing resource-based theory of strategic alliances than is available in the extant literature. We divide the article into four parts. First, we examine the rationale for entering into strategic alliances from a resource perspective, as compared with a transaction-cost perspective. We then identify the resource characteristics of individual firms that are the antecedents of alliance formation. Third, we discuss structural preferences for alliances, as determined by the resource types of partner firms. Finally, we develop a typology of inter-partner resource alignments and explore the effects of these resource alignments on alliance performance. The four parts of the article set out the four essential components of a resource-based theory of strategic alliances: rationale, formation, structure, and performance. These four components are integral to a general theory of alliances, because they have been the main focus of alliance research. What has been lacking in the literature thus far is the fact that none of these aspects has been adequately examined from the resource-based perspective. Taken together , the four aspects contribute toward a comprehensive and integrated theory of strategic alliances from the resource-based viewpoint. To facilitate empirical testing of the resource-based theory of strategic alliances presented here, we also develop a number of propositions. We represent in Figure 1 a schematic of our exposition. Bibliography: References Amit, R., & Schoemaker, P. J. H. 1993. Strategic assets and organizational rent. Strategic Management Journal, 14: 33-46. Axelrod, R. 1984. The evolution of cooperation. New York: Basic Books. Balakrishnan, S., & Koza, M. P. 1993. Information asymmetry, adverse selection and joint-ventures. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 20: 99-117. Barney, J. 1991. Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17: 99-120. Beamish, P. W. 1987. Joint ventures in LDCs: Partner selection and performance. Management International Review, 27: 23-37. Black, J. A., & Boal, K. B. 1994. Strategic resources: Traits, configurations and paths to sustainable competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 15 (Summer Special Issue): 131-148. Blau, P. M. 1964. Exchange and power in social life. New York: Wiley. Blodgett, L. L. 1991. Partner contributions as predictors of equity share in international joint ventures. Journal of International Business Studies, 22: 63-78. Brouthers, K. D., Brouthers, L. E., & Wilkinson, T. J. 1995. Strategic alliances: Choose your partners. Long Range Planning, 28 (3): 18-25. Buckley, P. J., & Casson, M. 1988. A theory of cooperation in international business. In F. J. Contractor & P. Lorange (Eds.), Cooperative strategies in international business: 31-53. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. Bucklin, L. P., & Sengupta, S. 1993. Organizing successful co-marketing alliances. Journal of Marketing, 57 (April): 32-46. Chatterjee, S., & Wernerfelt, B. 1991. The link between resources and type of diversification: Theory and evidence. Strategic Management Journal, 12: 33-48. Chen, M. -J. 1996. Competitor analysis and inter-firm rivalry: Toward a theoretical integration. Academy of Management Review, 21: 100-134. Chi, T. 1994. Trading in strategic resources: Necessary conditions, transaction cost problems, and choice of exchange structure. Strategic Management Journal, 15:271-290. Chisholm, D. 1989. Coordination without hierarchy: Informal structures in multiorganizational systems. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Coase, R. H. 1937. The nature of the firm. Economica, 4 (new series): 385-405. Collis, D. J. 1991. A resource-based analysis of global competition: The case of the bearings industry. Strategic Management Journal, 12 (Summer Special Issue): 49-68. Conner, K. R. 1991. A historical comparison of resource-based theory and five schools of thought within industrial organization economics: Do we have a new theory of the firm? Journal of Management, 17:124-154. Conner, K. R., & Prahalad, C. K. 1996. A resource-based theory of the firm: Knowledge versus opportunism. Organization Science, 7: 477-501. Cullen, J. B., Johnson, J. L., & Sakano, T. 1995. Japanese and local partner commitment to IJVs: Psychological consequences of outcomes and investments in the IJV relationship. Journal of International Business Studies, 26: 91-115.

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