RELATIONAL AND PERFORMANCE RISKS IN OPERATIVE WORK IN CONTRACT-BASED R&D ALLIANCES

This paper examines the influence of context-related risks in operative work in contract-based R&D alliances by comparing critical incidents from four R&D alliance projects experienced by alliance operative leaders in two contextual settings — each containing two different types of risks: relational and performance. The results indicate that the different risks influence certain critical aspects of the operative work in the studied projects; these have implications for individuals working in alliances that are exposed to these types of risks. However, the findings also indicate that there are other aspects, related to relationship and trust building in the R&D alliance operative work, that are critical in both of the research contexts.