Creating Research Inventions by Combination of Multiple Theories and Concepts : An Implication from Developing a New Mathematical Model for Corporate Alliances

A mathematical model to express the mutual complementary relationship between two companies during the matching phase in a corporate alliance was developed recently. The model made possible the computational expression of the relationship as a value. The developers applied the methodology of modeling in cyber informatics of computer science to the research of corporate alliances. Additionally, the developers combined the theoretical framework of Resource-Based View (RBV) with the concept of flow in physics and the concept of Give and Take in psychological science. The combination of these theories and concepts lead to the successful construction of a brand new mathematical model. The model was implemented by programmatic means, which proved its validity. In this way, the combination of multiple theories and concepts has proven to be the key factor for creating new inventions in management studies. These days, research activities including the management field are becoming progressively mature, much more segmented, and increasingly specific. As a result of this, researchers tend to concentrate only on a single theory, framework or discipline. This trend obstructs the creation of new inventions in management studies. This paper asserts that the combination of multiple theories and concepts by importing them from other different scientific fields is significantly important and useful, and is a key to success for innovation in research activities