How cultural distance affects the formation of international strategic alliance – an explanation of the transaction costs theory

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Ning Xiong ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
Peng Zhao

Purpose Based on the transaction cost theory, this paper aims to investigate the impact of cultural distance on international strategic alliance formation and its underlying mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the investment of foreign firms in the Chinese Venture Capital market as an empirical background, Obtaining VC data from Zero2IPO Private Equity, CVsource Investment Database (2001–2015). This paper chooses the Logit regression method, according to Lind’s three-step method to test the inverted U-shaped relationship. Findings The empirical analysis of foreign venture capital firms invested in China revealed that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between cultural distance and the possibility of international strategic alliances. This relationship is the result of two opposing mechanisms, which are the need and the feasibility of international strategic alliances. In addition, this study further examined the moderating effects of social embeddedness and social reputation, revealing the boundary effects on the complex relationship between cultural distance and possible international strategic alliance formation. Originality/value This study focuses on cultural difference, which is a key factor leading to a firm’s transaction costs. Based on the transaction cost theory, this paper investigates the impact of cultural distance on international strategic alliance formation and its underlying mechanisms.

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 385
Author(s):  
Andrejs Čirjevskis

This paper aims to unbundle the antecedents of competence-based synergy in the strategic alliance formation process by employing the ARCTIC framework. The current research provides a new empirical application of the ARCTIC framework to reveal the success factors of reciprocal synergies of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi strategic alliance in the automotive industry. By taking a resource-based view on the sources of competitive advantage, the current paper contributes to theoretical and practical issues of global strategic alliances as part of the existing literature on strategic management, international business, and corporate finance. By bridging qualitative and quantitative research methods, the paper provides validity to the ARCTIC framework with an application of the real option valuation. A conceptual model of research helps practitioners and scholars to explore critical success factors of alliance formation and to predict a competence-based synergy of strategic alliances. Future research may explore the institutional context of strategic alliances, specifically, exploring the impact of the French and Japanese governments on the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi alliance’s synergies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
pp. 1095-1111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura d'Alessandro ◽  
Stephen J. Bailey ◽  
Marco Giorgino

Purpose – Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are characterised by contracts which are necessarily incomplete due to the complexity of their contractual specifications for the contracted services combined with the long-term legal obligations they create. This creates high transaction costs including sharing (and so bearing) risks. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between risk sharing and governance, providing a new perspective for analysis with less emphasis on transaction costs and more on PPPs as strategic alliances. Design/methodology/approach – Three main issues are analysed. First, the definition of PPP in terms of both the type of arrangements and the actors involved, structures varying from one country to another and between contracts. Second, the definition of strategic alliance, identifying which form(s) of PPP is a strategic partnership. Third, reconsideration of incomplete contract theory to identify the circumstances where a strategic alliance can accommodate high transaction costs. Findings – The paper concludes that establishing PPPs as strategic alliances could rectify problems of incomplete contracts by implementing a multidimensional (rather than technocratic) approach to risk governance. Originality/value – The contribution to knowledge provided by this study is rooted in the conceptualization of PPPs as strategic alliances by distinguishing the tangible characteristics of strategic alliance related to the letter of the contract from the intangible characteristics related to the spirit of the contract with the main purpose being to create both public and private value.


Author(s):  
Ana Valdés-Llaneza ◽  
Esteban García-Canal

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a comprehensive view of the role of previous cooperative relationships between partners at the different stages of development of strategic alliances: formation, design and post-formation, as well as their effect on alliance performance. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a comprehensive review of the literature. Findings – This paper shows that the relationship between prior ties and alliance outcomes is more complex than what it seems at first sight. The impact that prior ties have on alliance performance and organizational adaptation is not always positive. Research limitations/implications – The main implication of this paper for researchers and managers is to show the need to consider the risks of repeated relationships between partners. This research could be developed by conducting a meta-analysis. Originality/value – This paper provides a comprehensive view of the impact of prior ties between the partners in strategic alliance outcomes. This paper sheds light on some inconclusive results of previous research on this topic.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilídio Tomás Lopes ◽  
Duarte Pitta Ferraz ◽  
Ana Maria Gomes Rodrigues

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of human and structural capital on profitability of major airlines and examine whether region, capital ownership and control and strategic alliance play a clustering effect on profitability. Design/methodology/approach Using information from the top 30 airlines worldwide, in particular human and structural capital proxies, a linear model is regressed. Test of hypotheses were performed towards the identification of the influence emerged from variables, such as region, capital ownership and control and strategic alliances, on intellectual capital drivers and profitability. Findings Turnover is driven by human and structural capital factors, namely: employee expenses and benefits; size of board of directors; intangible assets; codeshare agreements; and passenger traffic. Airlines profitability does not depend on region, capital ownership and control or strategic alliance in which the company is integrated. Research limitations/implications In spite of the limitations, we underline the range of time under analysis and the sample size. However, the current approach can be replicated over time and based in other rankings, structured on different metrics and approaches. Practical implications The empirical results provide both an understanding of how independent variables positively affect the performance of airlines and offer some explanation as to the relationship between key characteristics of firms and profitability. Originality/value The research adds value to the current literature by exploring the effects of new intellectual capital drivers on profitability of airlines firms. Focused on a sector that strongly contributes to improve the networking between nations, it provides a new and updated overview.


2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (spe) ◽  
pp. 109-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Portugal Ferreira ◽  
José Eduardo Storopoli ◽  
Fernando Ribeiro Serra

Research on strategic alliances has a long tradition in management studies. Strategic alliances have been investigated using multiple theoretical lenses from RBV to agency and transaction cost, and diverse contexts, from the semiconductor to airline industries. In this study we scrutinize the extant strategic alliance research in thirty-one top-ranked business/management journals, over a twenty-year period, from 1993 to 2012. In a sample of 866 articles we conducted citation and co-citation analyses employing social network techniques and factor analysis to identify research themes and make sense of the stock of accumulated knowledge and theoretical trends. We were able to identify some shifts in research over time, namely from a focus on performance and theoretical emphasis on transaction cost theory and governance concerns, moving to a learning and knowledge transfer approach, social networks and collaboration. This study provides the foundations over which future research may develop to fill conceptual and empirical gaps.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murat Atalay ◽  
Onur Dirlik ◽  
Fulya Sarvan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the configuration of network ties that would have a positive impact on performance outcomes and test the presumed impact of multilevel strategic alliances on innovation and firm performance in a specific industry. Design/methodology/approach This study comprises part of a larger project on the network relations of yacht-building firms operating in Turkey. Data of the study was collected through face-to-face interviews and questionnaires with 143 yacht-building firms operating in major yacht-building regions of the country. Findings The findings of the study indicated the presence of meaningful relationship between total number of (strong) network relations perceived as strategic alliance and overall innovation performance. The generally presumed positive relationship between innovation performance and firm performance was supported. The type of innovation performance that was found to be related to the total number of network ties perceived as strategic alliance at national and global levels was product innovation performance. Practical implications A possible contribution of this study for industry members would be the implications of the finding that indicates positive impact of strategic alliances with different actors of the industry. Originality/value This study contributes to the exploration of network configurations that have a positive impact on innovation and firm performance, by dealing with the impact of the size, strength and geographical level of network relations in one single study. The yacht-building industry as the empirical setting represents a specific category of industry that rests on customized individual or small-batch manufacturing requiring considerable interaction with customers and suppliers. Because no study exists on this topic, findings can inspire similar industries.


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Veltri ◽  
Andrea Venturelli ◽  
Giovanni Mastroleo

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a method to measure intellectual capital (IC) in firms involved in strategic alliances, an area that has received scant attention in the literature, as existing research is focused mainly on organizational level mainly and increasingly on macro-level unit such as regions or nations. There are very few works at the meso-level (i.e. alliances, clusters), and the paper aims to fill this void, by providing researchers and practitioners with a tool capable of combining measurement and management aims, developed at organizational level with the active participation of the researchers. Design/methodology/approach – The method of analysis is based on a model formalized through a fuzzy expert system (FES). The FES are able to merge the capabilities of an expert system to simulate the decision-making process with the vagueness typical of human reasoning, maintaining the ability to still have a numeric value as a response. Its construction requires the participation of experts, whose knowledge of the problem is accumulated in the form of blocks of rules. These features make it possible to formalize the decision-making process related to the IC valuation, handling qualitative and quantitative variables, and exploring the cognitive mechanisms underlying this process. Findings – The outcome of the application is a system designed to measure the intangible performance deriving from participation in a strategic alliance using FES. This study contributes to the broadening of the research community’s understanding regarding the alternative measurement of IC created within strategic alliances. Research limitations/implications – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, IC literature lacks methods expressly designed to measure the incremental value of IC originating from collaboration among firms. From a measurement perspective, the results may be regarded as valuable proof that IC performance within strategic alliances can be measured quantitatively. Practical implications – On the management side, the possibility of retracing the determinants of different IC intermediate indicators composing the final IC index allows strategic alliances managers to use this information for decision-making purposes. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge this is the first study applying FES to measure IC in a firm belonging to a strategic alliance. In the authors’ opinion, fuzzy logic methodology, recently applied in empirical work designed to evaluate IC, represents a reliable methodology because of the “fuzzy” nature of IC.


2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Cordelia

Transaction cost theory has often been used to support the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to reduce imperfection in the economic system. Electronic markets and hierarchies have repeatedly been described as solutions to inefficiencies in the organisation of transactions in complex and uncertain settings. Far from criticising this assumption, this paper highlights the limits associated with this application of transaction cost theory that has been prevalent in IS research. Building on the concepts first proposed by Ciborra, the paper argues that information-related problems represent only some of the elements contributing to transaction costs. These costs also emerge due to the interdependencies among the various factors contributing to their growth. The study of the consequences associated with ICT design and implementation, grounded in transaction cost theory, should consider the overall implication associated with the adoption and use of ICT and not only the direct effect on problems associated with information flow, distribution, and management.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nisha Bamel ◽  
Vijay Pereira ◽  
Umesh Bamel ◽  
Giuseppe Cappiello

Purpose This paper aims at reviewing the extant knowledge management (KM) research field within a strategic alliance context to understand the historical roots, its temporal progression, current state and potential future in a meaningful way. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study was retrieved from the Scopus database using a systematic literature search process. The bibliometric characteristics of 393 research documents were analyzed using bibliometric and structured network analysis. Findings The findings of the study suggest that the publication in the field have been growing with an average rate of 8.48%. This analysis also lists the most productive and impactful authors, main outlets, and the most impactful secondary and primary publication in the field. In addition, the conceptual and intellectual structure of the research field was constructed and discussed. Originality/value This paper uses an objective and quantitative approach by reviewing the related publications and virtually included all the relevant publications in the analysis, which was seen to be uneconomical when doing traditional literature reviews.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-394
Author(s):  
Rong-Her Chiu

Purpose The first well-known liner shipping conference was created for the UK/Calcutta trade in 1875. However, the European Union (EU) decided to abolish repeal the liner conferences system with effect from October 18 2008. This paper aims to study the governing regulations on shipping conferences in Taiwan along with investigating the impact on the EU to repeal conferences. The regulation on liner conferences in the USA is also briefly referred. Design/methodology/approach Literature review and questionnaire survey are used to conduct the study. This paper reviews important literature relating to the EU to repeal the conferences system and its impact on liner market competition to/from European trade routes, with discussions on the US and Taiwan regulations on shipping conferences. Questionnaire survey data, collected from published report and this research present shippers’ and carriers’ responses on the changes of regulations on liner conferences. Findings Shippers are strongly supporting the repeal of the conferences system. Academic research results basically reveal that the liner market will be more competitive in the trades to/from the USA and the EU after the repeal of the conferences. For Taiwan, its regulations are rather simple and loosely control over the liner conferences; therefore, if the shipping administration intends to enhance the inspection of the agreements of conferences and strategic alliances, more detailed regulations should be prepared, and the provisions of the EU or USA would be a good reference. Practical implications Through the discussions on the legal treatments of shipping conferences from the USA, the EU and Taiwan perspectives, this paper provides shipping researchers with not only a clear evolution of the liner conferences but also a deep understanding of the impact to repeal the conferences on liner market competition. Originality/value This paper reviews important literature and related legislations on liner conferences including the USA, the EU and Taiwan. The different responses on the EU to repeal the conferences system from shippers and carriers are discussed. The impact on liner market competition is presented.


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