Going Beyond Local Search in Alliance Networks : Technological Knowledge Base and Network Position as Predictors of Clique Spanning Ties

Alliance cliques have been largely neglected in technological alliances studies. In this study we show that cliques offer an interesting angle to analyze why certain firms are better in going beyond local search than others. Clique spanning ties can be expected to have strategic advantages for firms maneuvering themselves in a position as broker between two dense regions in the alliance network. We examine the effects of technological and network variables and find strong evidence that both factors play a considerable role in explaining the probability that firms go beyond local search in alliance networks