Purpose – This paper aims to focus on formation motivations and processes of R&D consortia to appreciate their differential innovative and learning capabilities. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents its argument in two separate steps. First, a two‐by‐two framework, comprising...

Purpose – Further understanding of structural hierarchy is critically needed to assess the usefulness of different alliance structures. This study goes beyond transaction cost reasoning and incorporates social exchange theoretic perspective with the aim of capturing the concurrent...

Many western firms are trying to conduct business in the People's Republic of China, and one of the prevalent approaches has been through the formation of international joint ventures (IJVs). While extant literature suggests that firms should focus on developing <italic>guanxi</italic> (that is, a form of...

This chapter explores the origins of the theme of competitive advantage in 19th and early 20th century economics. This theme, which forms the core of modern Strategic Management, was a battleground for debates about the value of abstract theory versus observations about real-life events....