Abstract
This article investigates equity joint ventures and contracts as alternative cooperative alliance forms in global, high-technology industries. An analysis of 476 strategic alliances finds that equity joint ventures are preferred to contracts when cultural differences between partner firms are greater, and when alliances involve upstream rather than downstream value chain activities. Contrarily, the data show that contracts are preferred to equity joint ventures in cross-industry alliances, and when the technological intensity of the industry sector of cooperation is higher. While the study reinforces earlier findings on cultural similarity, R&D alliances, and technological intensity, the results on industry origin are a unique contribution to the literature. Possible explanations for these results and their implications for research and managerial practice are discussed.
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