Title

When do alliances become unattractive for knowledge search? The role of innovation performance

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

8-2015

Abstract

This paper examines how decrease in innovation performance influences the firm¡¯s search for knowledge from its strategic alliances. We suggest that poorly performing firms would perceive an intensified knowledge acquisition-protection tension, which reduces their alliance knowledge search. We further argue that such firms would increase alliance knowledge search in the presence of conditions that mitigate their concerns for knowledge protection. We test our theoretical arguments using a longitudinal sample of firms in the U.S. semiconductor industry. Results show that innovation performance decrease leads to less alliance knowledge search. More importantly, firms facing low innovation performance are more likely to search for alliance knowledge when they have a large internal knowledge base, have alliance partners that are competitively dissimilar, and have partners in countries with strong intellectual property protection. However, at high level of the moderators, innovation performance decrease still tends to be negatively related to alliance knowledge search.

Publisher's Statement

© 2015 Academy of Management. All rights reserved. Publisher's version of record: http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2015.13848abstract

Publication Title

Academy of Management Proceedings

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