Preview

Economics of Contemporary Russia

Advanced search

Trust , Knowledge Similarity and Cooperation in Coopetitive Strategic Alliances

https://doi.org/10.33293/1609-1442-2019-4(87)-39-52

Abstract

Cooperative relationships between rival firms, which engage in interfirm strategic alliances, assume active transfer, reception and recombination of competencies and co-production of novel knowledge. These processes facilitate joint technological development and improve the participating firms’ competitiveness. Nevertheless, competitive interactions between the partners can impede the achievement of the alliance’s cooperative objectives. This paper investigates the impact of trusting attitudes developed between the partners on the effectiveness of interfirm collaboration under conditions of competitive rivalry in the broader industrial environment and similarity of initial knowledge at the partners’ disposal. It offers a number of hypotheses, which determine the interrelationships between the levels of interfirm trust, transaction costs associated with transferring knowledge and the successful attainment of alliance goals. The paper pays specific attention to the effects arising from the commonality of knowledge possessed by cooperating rivals. It also analyzes the influence of particular types of coopetitive strategic alliances on the success of collaborative  arrangements under the conditions of knowledge commonality among the partners.

About the Author

Alexander K. Lyasko
Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow
Russian Federation


References

1. Albort-Morant G., Leal-Millán A., Cepeda-Carrion G., Henseler J. (2018). Developing green innovation performance by fostering of organizational knowledge and competitive relations. Review of Managerial Science, vol. 12, pp. 499–517.

2. Arrow K. (1974). The Limits of Organization. New York: W. W. Norton.

3. Bellon B., Niosi J. (2001). Institutionalist theories and inter-firm alliances: The transaction cost, competence and evolutionary debate revisited. Current Sociology, vol. 49 (4), pp. 67–84.

4. Bengtsson M., Eriksson J., Wincent J. (2010). Co-opetition dynamics – An outline for further inquiry. Competitiveness Review, vol. 20, pp. 194–214.

5. Bogers M. (2011). The open innovation paradox: knowledge sharing and protection in R&D collaborations. European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 14, pp. 93–117.

6. Bouncken R. B., Kraus S. (2013). Innovation in knowledge-intensive industries: The double-edged sword of coopetition. Journal of Business Research, vol. 66, pp. 2060–2070.

7. Cassiman B., Di Guardo M. C., Valentini G. (2009). Organizing R&D projects to profit from innovation: Insights from co-opetition. Long Range Planning, vol. 42, pp. 216–233.

8. Chiesa V., Manzini R. (1998). Organizing for Technological Collaborations: A Managerial Perspective. R&D Management, vol. 28, pp. 199–212.

9. Cohen W. M., Levinthal D. A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 35, pp. 128–152.

10. Cozzolino A., Rothaermel F. T. (2018). Discontinuities, competition, and cooperation: Coopetitive dynamics between incumbents and entrants. Strategic Management Journal, vol. 39, pp. 3053–3085.

11. Cullen J. B., Johnson J. L., Sakano T. (2000). Success through commitment and trust: The soft side of strategic alliance management. Journal of World Business, vol. 35, pp. 223–240.

12. Das T. K., Teng B.-S. (2000). Instabilities of strategic alliances: An internal tensions perspective. Organization Science, vol. 11, pp. 77–101.

13. De Jong G., Klein Woolthuis, R.J.A. (2009). The content and role of formal contracts in high-tech alliances. Innovation: Management Policy and Practice, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 44–59.

14. Dementyev V. (2004). Trust – the Factor of Modern Market Economy Functioning and Development. Russian Economic Journal, no. 8, pp. 46–65 (in Russian).

15. De Laat P. (1997). Research and development alliances: Ensuring trust by mutual commitments. M. Ebers (Ed.), The Formation of Inter-Organizational Networks. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 146–173.

16. Duysters G., Kok G., Vaandrager M. (1999). Crafting successful strategic technology partnerships. R&D Management, vol. 29, pp. 343–351.

17. Duysters G., Lemmens C. (2003). Alliance group formation: Enabling and constraining effects of embeddedness and social capital in strategic technology alliance networks. International Studies of Management and Organization, vol. 33 (2), pp. 49–68.

18. Dyer J.H., Chu, W. (2003). The role of trustworthiness in reducing transaction costs and improving performance: Empirical evidence from the United States Japan and Korea. Organization Science, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 57–68.

19. Egorova N., Koroleva E. (2018). Methods for trust assessment of economic entities: Classification scheme and comparative analysis // Herald of CEMI. Issue 2 [Electronic resource]. Access for registered users. DOI: 10.33276/S0000039-5-1. URL: https://cemi.jes.su/s111111110000039-5-1 (in Russian).

20. Fedorova E., Barikhina Y. (2015). Assessing horizontal and vertical spillover effects from foreign direct investment in Russia. Voprosy Ekonomiki, no. 3, pp. 46–60 (in Russian).

21. Fernandez A.-S., Le Roy F., Gnyawali D. R. (2014). Sources and management of tension in co-opetition case evidence from telecommunications satellites manufacturing in Europe. Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 43, pp. 222–235.

22. Fukuyama F. (1995). Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. New York: Free Press.

23. Gnyawali D. R., Park B. J. (2011). Co-opetition between giants: Collaboration with competitors for technological innovation. Research Policy, vol. 40, pp. 650–663.

24. Golichenko O. (2017). Public policy and national innovation system failures. Voprosy Ekonomiki, no. 2, pp. 97–108 (in Russian).

25. Inkpen A. (1998). Learning, knowledge acquisition, and strategic alliances. European Management Journal, vol. 16, pp. 223–229.

26. Inkpen A. C. (2000). Learning through joint ventures: A framework of knowledge acquisition. Journal of Management Studies, vol. 37, pp. 1019–1043.

27. Inkpen A. C., Tsang E. W.K. (2005). Social capital, networks, and knowledge transfer. Academy of Management Review, vol. 30, pp. 146–165.

28. Kale P., Singh H., Perlmutter H. (2000). Learning and protection of proprietary assets in strategic alliances: Building relational capital. Strategic Management Journal, vol. 21, pp. 217–237.

29. Lam A. (2000). Tacit knowledge, organizational learning and societal institutions: An integrated framework. Organization Studies, vol. 21, pp. 487–513.

30. Lane P. J., Koka B. R., Pathak S. (2006). The reification of absorptive capacity: A critical review and rejuvenation of the construct. Academy of Management Review, vol. 31, pp. 833–863.

31. Lyasko A. (2017). Stability in the informal value transfer systems: norms of trust or institutions of control? Voprosy Ekonomiki, no. 3, pp. 120–130 (in Russian).

32. Lei D., Slocum Jr J. W., Pitts R. A. (1997). Building cooperative advantage: Managing strategic alliances to promote organizational learning. Journal of World Business, vol. 32, pp. 203–223.

33. Li D., Eden L., Hitt M. A., Ireland R. D. (2008). Friends, acquaintances, or strangers? Partner selection in R&D alliances. Academy of Management Journal, vol. 51, pp. 315–334.

34. Luo Y. (2007). A coopetition perspective on global competition. Journal of World Business, vol. 42, pp. 129–144.

35. Mowery D. C., Oxley J. E., Silverman B. S. (1996). Strategic alliances and interfirm knowledge transfer. Strategic Management Journal, Winter Special Issue, vol. 17, pp. 77–91.

36. Muthusamy S. K., White M. A. (2005). Learning and knowledge transfer in strategic alliances: A social exchange view. Organization Studies, Vol. 26, pp. 415–441.

37. Nooteboom B. (2002). Trust: Forms, Foundations, Functions, Failures and Figures. Cheltenham: Edward

38. Elgar.

39. Nooteboom B., Van Haverbeke W., Duysters G., Gilsing V., van den Oord A. (2007). Optimal cognitive

40. distance and absorptive capacity. Research Policy, vol. 36, pp. 1016–1034.

41. Padula G., Dagnino G. B. (2007). Untangling the rise of coopetition: The intrusion of competition in a cooperative game structure. International Studies of Management and Organization, vol. 37 (2), pp. 32–52.

42. Park B. J., Srivastava M. K., Gnyawali D. R. (2014). Walking the tight rope of coopetition: Impact of competition and cooperation intensities and balance on firm innovation performance. Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 43, pp. 210–221.

43. Raza-Ullah T., Bengtsson M., Kock S. (2014). The coopetition paradox and tension in coopetition at multiple levels. Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 43, pp. 189–198.

44. Ritala P. (2009). Is coopetition different from cooperation? The impact of market rivalry on value creation in alliances. International Journal of Intellectual Property Management, vol. 3, pp. 39–55.

45. Ritala P. (2012). Coopetition strategy – When is it successful? Empirical evidence on innovation and

46. market performance. British Journal of Management, vol. 23, pp. 307–324.

47. Ritala P., Golnam A., Wegmann A. (2014). Coopetitionbased business models: The case of Amazon.com. Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 43, pp. 236–249.

48. Salvetat D., Géraudel M., d’Armagnac S. (2013). Interorganizational knowledge management in a coopetitive context in the aeronautic and space industry. Knowledge Management Research and Practice, vol. 11, pp. 265–277.

49. Wu J. (2014). Cooperation with competitors and product innovation: Moderating effects of technological capability and alliances with universities. Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 43, pp. 199–209.

50. Zaheer A., McEvily B., Perrone V. (1998). Does trust matter? Exploring the effects of interorganizational and interpersonal trust on performance. Organization Science, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 123–141.


Review

For citations:


Lyasko A.K. Trust , Knowledge Similarity and Cooperation in Coopetitive Strategic Alliances. Economics of Contemporary Russia. 2019;(4):39-52. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.33293/1609-1442-2019-4(87)-39-52

Views: 889


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.


ISSN 1609-1442 (Print)
ISSN 2618-8996 (Online)