UNU-MERIT Working Papers Series
Exploration and Exploitation in Technology-based Alliance Networks
Wim Vanhaverbeke, Victor Gilsing, Bonnie Beerkens & Geert Duysters #2007-020Although the literature converges regarding the reasons why and how
networks of technology alliances are formed, there is still lack of
agreement on what constitutes an optimal network structure, once it has
been formed. The aim of this paper is to fill this void and to determine
what constitutes an optimal network structure for exploration and
exploitation within the context of technological innovation. We
differentiate among a firm's direct ties, indirect ties and degree of
redundancy and analyze their role in the pharmaceutical, chemical and
automotive industry. Regarding the role of direct ties, in combination
with indirect ties, we find two alternative alliance network structures
that are effective for both exploitation and exploration. We also find
that redundancy in a firm's alliance network has a positive effect on
exploitation. This is not the case for exploration, however, which seems
to reveal a new insight into the role of redundancy when firms explore
new technological fields. A final point is that our findings remain
largely invariant across the three industries, enhancing the
generalisability of our results.
Keywords: Networks, Strategic Alliances, Innovation, Learning
JEL classification: 032, 031
UNU-MERIT Working Papers
ISSN 1871-9872
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