Sustaining Competitiveness through Alliances and Innovation: The impact of Alliance Management Issues on learning skills and competencies from partner(s)

Abstract

As companies face pressure from increased competition, shortening product life cycles and growing product complexity many are finding they need to change the way they develop new technologies, products and services. As companies realize they can no longer afford to rely solely on their own R&D and need to acquire ideas from others, there has been a trend in many sectors away from a mostly closed to a more open model of innovation. The literature on the alliance based innovation strategies is premised on the basis of strategic intent of one of the partner firms to appropriate technology from the partner(s) and build on their core competence. We examine strategic alliances involving small and medium firms where the alliance activity is innovations that make new products, processes or services and the intent is to absorb partner capabilities. Small firms have been chosen to minimize the effects such as scale, scope and established influences that impact the management and decision mak...