Comparing the impact of alliance-learning activities on alliance performance across small and large firms
Journal
Knowledge Management Research and Practice
Journal Volume
18
Journal Issue
2
Pages
188-198
Date Issued
2020
Author(s)
Lui, S.
Abstract
Firms in the high-technology industry often form alliances to access or share knowledge with their alliance partners. This paper hypothesises that small and large firms differ in their learning needs; it also develops hypotheses that examine how three different types of alliance-learning activities increasee alliance performance within small and large firms. To test the hypotheses, survey data were collected from a sample of 173 strategic alliances formed by Taiwanese high-technology firms. Structural Equation Modelling was then performed to analyse the survey data. Among the three types of alliance-learning activities, seeking knowledge about a partner and coordinating with a partner were positively related to alliance performance. Moreover, the firm size moderated such relationships: specifically, while coordinating with a partner led to the highest alliance performance for small firms, seeking knowledge about a partner led to the highest alliance performance for large firms.
Type
journal article