In this study, we examine the process of interfirm knowledge transfer in R&D relationships. Based upon an embedded case study, we develop a model for understanding the initiation and evolution of interfirm knowledge transfer. Complementing previous cross-sectional research, this model points to the importance of legal clauses as a formal design alternative to equity governance structures, expectations of a long-term relationship as a specific indicator of trust, and similarity of technological equipment as an important facilitator for acquisition and assimilation of knowledge. This model also indicates that interfirm knowledge transfer is likely to continue in R&D relationships as long as perceived market threats remain limited and perceived technological complementarities remain extensive. In addition, we point to two strategies to organize an R&D relationship such that continuation of interfirm knowledge transfer is more likely to occur.
Alvarez, Sharon A., and Jay B. Barney2001 `How entrepreneurial firms can benefit from alliances with large partners'. Academy of Management Executive15: 139—148.
2.
Axelrod, Robert1984The evolution of cooperation. New York : Basic Books.
3.
Blau, Peter1964Exchange and power in social life. New York: Wiley.
4.
Chen, Chung-Jen2004 `The effects of knowledge attribute, alliance characteristics, and absorptive capacity on knowledge transfer performance'. R&D Management34: 311—321.
5.
Cohen, Wesley M., and Daniel A. Levinthal1990 `Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation'. Administrative Science Quarterly,35: 128—152.
6.
Cummings, Larry L., and Philip Bromiley1996 `The organizational trust inventory (OTI): Development and validation' in Trust in organizations: Frontiers of theory and research. Roderick M. Kramer and Tom R. Tyler (eds), 302—320. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
7.
De Laat, Paul1997 `Research and development alliances: Ensuring trust by mutual commitments' in The formation of inter-organizational networks. Mark Ebers (ed.), 146—173. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
8.
Doz, Yves1996 `The evolution of cooperation in strategic alliances: Initial conditions or learning processes?' Strategic Management Journal17: 55—83.
9.
Doz, Yves, and Gary Hamel1997 ` The use of alliances in implementing technology strategies' in Managing strategic innovation and change: A collection of readings. Michael L. Tushman and Philip Anderson (eds), 556—580. New York: Oxford University Press.
10.
Dyer, Jeffrey H.1997 `Effective interfirm collaboration: How firms minimize transaction costs and maximize transaction value'. Strategic Management Journal18: 535—556.
11.
Dyer, Jeffrey H., and Harbir Singh1998 `The relational view: Cooperative strategy and sources of interorganizational competitive advantage'. Academy of Management Review23: 660—679.
12.
Dyer, Jeffrey H., and Kentaro Nobeoka2000 `Creating and managing a high-performance knowledge-sharing network: The Toyota case'. Strategic Management Journal, 21: 345—367.
13.
Eisenhardt, Kathleen M.1989 `Building theories from case study research'. Academy of Management Review14: 532—550.
14.
Faems, Dries, Bart van Looy, and Koenraad Debackere2005 `Interorganizational collaboration and innovation: Toward a portfolio approach'. Journal of Product Innovation Management22: 238—250.
15.
Garud, Raghu1997 `On the distinction between know-how, know-what and know-why ' in Advances in strategic management. Anne Huff and Jim Walsh (eds), 14: 81—101. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
16.
Garud, Raghu, and Praveen R. Nayyar1994 `Transformative capacity: Continual structuring by intertemporal technology transfer'. Strategic Management Journal15: 365—385.
17.
Hagedoorn, John2002 `Inter-firm R&D partnerships: An overview of major trends and patterns since 1960'. ResearchPolicy31: 477—492.
18.
Hamel, Gary1991 `Competition for competence and interpartner learning within international strategic alliances'. Strategic Management Journal12 (Summer Special Issue): 83—103.
19.
Inkpen, Andrew C., and Wang Pien2006 `An examination of collaboration and knowledge transfer: China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park'. Journal of Management Studies43: 779—811.
20.
Jones, Gareth R., and Jennifer M. George1998 `The experience and evolution of trust: Implications for cooperation and teamwork'. Academy of Management Review23: 531—546.
21.
Kale, Prashant, Harbir Singh, and Howard Perlmutter2000 `Learning and protection of proprietary assets in strategic alliances: Building relational capital'. Strategic Management Journal21: 217—237.
22.
Khanna, Tarun, Ranjay Gulati, and Nitin Nohria1998 `The dynamics of learning alliances: competition, cooperation, and relative scope'. Strategic Management Journal19: 193—210.
23.
Klein, Benjamin, Robert G. Crawford, and Armen A. Alchian1978 `Vertical integration, appropriable rents, and the competitive contracting process'. Journal of Law and Economics21: 297—326.
24.
Klein Woolthuis, Rosalinde, Bas Hillebrand, and Bart Nooteboom2005 `Trust, contract and relationship development'. Organization Studies26: 813—840.
25.
Kogut, Bruce, and Udo Zander1992 `Knowledge of the firm, combinative capabilities and the replication of technology'. Organization Science3: 383—397.
26.
Kvale, Steinar1996InterViews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing . London: Sage Publications.
27.
Lam, Alice1997 `Embedded firms, embedded knowledge: Problems of collaboration and knowledge transfer in global cooperative ventures'. Organization Studies18: 973—997.
28.
Lane, Peter J., and Michael Lubatkin1998 `Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning '. Strategic Management Journal19: 461—477.
29.
Langley, Ann1999 `Strategies for theorizing from process data'. Academy of Management Review24: 691—710.
30.
Larson, Andrea1992 `Network dyads in entrepreneurial settings: A study of the governance of exchange relationships'. Administrative Science Quarterly37: 76—104.
31.
Larsson, Rikard, Lars Bengtsson, Kristina Henriksson, and Judith Sparks1998 `The interorganizational learning dilemma: Collective knowledge development in strategic alliances'. Organization Science9: 285—305.
32.
Lave, Jean1988Cognition in practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.
33.
Lave, Jean, and Etienne Wenger1991Situated learning. New York: Cambridge University Press.
34.
Leonard-Barton, Dorothy1990 `A dual methodology for case studies: Synergistic use of a longitudinal single site with replicated multiple studies'. Organization Science1: 248—266.
35.
Lewicki, Roy J., and Barbara B. Bunker1996 `Developing and maintaining trust in work relationships' in Trust in organizations: Frontiers of theory and research. Roderick M. Kramer and Tom R. Tyler (eds), 114—139. Thousand Oa, CA: Sage.
36.
Madhok, Anoop1995a `Revisiting multinational firms' tolerance for joint ventures: A trust-based approach'. Journal of International Business Studies26: 117—137.
37.
Madhok, Anoop1995b `Opportunism and trust in joint venture relationships: An exploratory study and a model'. Scandinavian Journal of Management11: 55—74.
38.
Miller, C. Chet, Laura B. Cardinal, and William H. Glick1997 `Retrospective reports in organizational research: A reexamination of recent evidence'. Academy of Management Journal40: 189—204.
39.
Mowery, David C., Joanne E. Oxley, and Brian S. Silverman1996 `Strategic alliances and interfirm knowledge transfer'. Strategic Management Journal17 (Winter Special Issue): 77—91.
40.
Muthusamy, Senthil K., and Margaret A. White2005 `Learning and knowledge transfer in strategic alliances: A social exchange view'. Organization Studies26: 415—441.
41.
Nonaka, Ikujiro, and Hirotaka Takeuchi1996The knowledge creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
42.
Oye, Kenneth1986Cooperation under anarchy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
43.
Parkhe, Arvind1993a `“Messy” research, methodological predispositions, and theory development in international joint ventures'. Academy of Management Review18: 227—268.
44.
Parkhe, Arvind1993b `Strategic alliances structuring: A game theoretic and transaction cost examination of interfirm cooperation'. Academy of Management Journal36: 794—829.
45.
Pentland, Brian T.1999 `Building process theory with narrative: From description to explanation'. Academy of Management Review24: 711—724.
46.
Pettigrew, Andrew M.1990 `Longitudinal field research on change: Theory and practice '. Organization Science1: 267—292.
47.
Poole, Marshall S., Andrew H. van de Ven, Kevin Dooley, and Michael E. Holmes2000Organizational change and innovation processes: Theory and methods for research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
48.
Poppo, Laura, and Todd Zenger2002 `Do formal contracts and relational governance function as substitutes or complements?' Strategic Management Journal23: 707—725.
49.
Reuer, Jeffrey J., Africa Arino, and Thomas Mellewigt2006 `Entrepreneurial alliances as contractual forms'. Journal of Business Venturing21: 306—325.
50.
Ring, Peter S.1997 `Processes facilitating reliance on trust in inter-organizational networks ' in The formation of interorganizational networks. Marc Ebers (ed.), 113—145. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
51.
Ring, Peter S., and Andrew H. van de Ven1994 `Developmental processes of cooperative interorganizational relationships'. Academy of Management Review19: 90—118.
52.
Robinson, Kenneth C., and Patricia P. McDougall2001 `Entry barriers and new venture performance: A comparison of universal and contingency approaches. Strategic Management Journal22: 659—685.
53.
Rousseau, Denise M., Sim B. Sitkin, Ronald S. Burt, and Colin Camerer1998 `Not so different after all: A cross-discipline view of trust'. Academy of Management Review23: 393—404.
54.
Simonin, Bernard L.1999 `Ambiguity and the process of knowledge transfer in strategic alliances'. Strategic Management Journal20: 595—623.
55.
Tsang, Eric W. K.2000 `Transaction cost and resource-based explanations of joint ventures: A comparison and synthesis'. Organization Studies21: 215—242.
56.
Tyre, Marcie J., and Eric von Hippel1997 `The situated nature of adaptive learning in organizations'. Organization Science8: 71—83.
57.
Uzzi, Brian1997 `Social structure and competition in interfirm networks: The paradox of embeddedness'. Administrative Science Quarterly42: 35—67.
58.
Williamson, Oliver E.1985The economic institutions of capitalism. New York: Free Press.
59.
Williamson, Oliver E.1991 `Comparative economic organization: The analysis of discrete structural alternatives'. Administrative Science Quarterly36: 269—296.
60.
Yin, Robert K.2003Case study research, design and methods, 3rd edn. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
61.
Zahra, Shaker A., and Gerard George2002 `Absorptive capacity: A review, reconceptualization, and extension'. Academy of Management Review27: 185—203.
62.
Zajac, Edward J., and Cyrus P. Olsen1993 `From transaction cost to transactional value analysis: Implications for the study of interorganizational strategies'. Journal of Management Studies30: 131—145.
