Knowledge protection and partner selection in R&D alliances

This dissertation investigates three sets of research questions. First, how can partner selection be used as a mechanism to minimize R&D alliance participantsâ concerns about knowledge leakage? And what is the nature of the relationship among partner selection and two previously-studied protection mechanisms â governance structure and alliance scope? Extending this research question to the international context, the second set of research questions asks how international R&D alliances differ from their domestic counterparts in partner selection to protect their participantsâ valuable knowledge, and how different types of international R&D alliances vary in this regard. Distinguishing bilateral from multilateral R&D alliances, this dissertation examines a third set of questions about how multilateral R&D alliances differ from bilateral ones in partner selection for the purpose of protecting participantsâ technological assets. Hypotheses are proposed and tested with a sample of 2,185 R&D alliances involving companies in high technology industries. Results indicate that the more radical the innovation an R&D alliance intends to develop, the more likely the alliance will be formed between Friends than Strangers. However, under the same situation, firms are less likely to select Acquaintances than Strangers. A substitution effect was detected among partner selection, governance structure, and alliance scope used by firms to protect their valuable technological assets from being appropriated in R&D alliances. In addition, no empirical support was found for different partner selection preferences for firms forming domestic R&D alliances versus international R&D alliances. However, results show that firms, when forming trinational R&D alliances and/or traditional international R&D alliances, are more likely to select their prior partners than when forming cross-nation domestic R&D alliances. Moreover, this study shows that when an R&D alliance is formed by multiple companies, partner firms are more likely to be prior partners. I argue that concerns about knowledge leakage explain this result

Contractual Alliance Governance: Impact of Different Contract Functions on Alliance Performance

Recent research on alliance governance has emphasized that contracts can have both a control and coordination function. In this paper, we test the impact of these different contract functions on alliance performance. Conducting structural equation analyses on a sample of 270 Dutch technology alliances, we disentangle the relationship between different contract functions, partner cooperation and alliance success. Our data show that different contract roles have a different impact on partner cooperation within the alliance. In addition, we find strong indications that the presence/absence of prior trustful collaboration and the number of alliance partners moderate the relationship between contract functions and partner cooperation. Finally, our data provide evidence that contract functions indirectly influence alliance success via partner cooperation

Human Resources for Health Migration: global policy responses, initiatives, and emerging issues

This report identifies and maps contemporary global policy responses to, and initiatives on, international HRH migration, with particular reference to low‐income source countries. It reports on a systematic review and analysis of the responses and initiatives of twelve multilateral organisations and global fora: European Union; Global Forum on Migration and Development; Global Health Workforce Alliance; International Labour Organization; International Organization for Migration; Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development; Pan‐American Health Organization; UN Global Migration Group; UN High‐Level Dialogue on Migration and Development; World Bank; World Health Organization; and the World Trade Organization. The report documents how these global policy actors are presently engaging with the HRH migration field through their activities, initiatives and policy responses. It situates this engagement within global policy initiatives spanning health, migration and development. In addition to reviewing and mapping current initiatives and policy responses and their outcomes, the report identifies emerging issues, upcoming promising initiatives and global policy scenarios

Roles played by relational trust in strategic alliances

In this paper we develop the concept of relational quality as a proxy for relational trust. Exploration of data from 67 alliances confirms that relational quality is composed of three elements: initial conditions, partner interactions, and external events. We offer propositions on the relative importance of each of these elements depending on the different roles relational trust may play in strategic alliances: the role of a control mechanism, of a governance mechanism, or as an enabler of high risk initiativesManagement; Strategy

Sharing Global Governance: The Role of Civil Society Organizations

This report explores the multiple roles and potential of CSOs in international policymaking and examines the strengths and weaknesses of CSOs and state-based organizations in global governance. It looks particularly closely at the resources, access, skills and experience that each group of actors brings to the table. It concludes that the infrastructure used to incorporate CSOs into the United Nations and other multilaterals must be strengthened and expanded if more integrated and effective forms of collaboration are to be developed and outlines policy recommendations how this goal can be accomplished

The end of the ‘new world order’? security governance and US imperialism after 9/11

The concept of global governance has emerged as a key theoretical approach since the 1990s. Applied to the transformation of international security, it has suggested a shift from the state-dominated bipolar system of the Cold War era to a new multipolar and multilateral security architecture in which state, non-state and international actors collaborate in the making and implementation of security policies. Then came September 11, 2001 and the war in Iraq. Today we appear to be more likely to discuss the nature of American hegemony and the stability of a unipolar international system. Observing the clash between these two competing perspectives of international security, the aims of this paper are threefold. First, this paper seeks to examine the respective theoretical assumptions underlying the concepts of hegemony and governance. Second, it examines the competing hypotheses proposed by these two theories with regard to international security. Third, it discusses in how far the empirical evidence since September 11, can be taken as indication of either a hegemonic strategy by the United States and balancing or bandwagoning behaviour by other major powers, or the continuation of security governance

American hegemony or global governance? Competing visions of international security

An overview is given of two competing visions of contemporary international security: United States hegemony and security governance. According to these perspectives, the current generation is either witnessing the return to classical balance-of-power politics, in which the US as the sole surviving superpower can impose hegemonic or imperialist policies upon other nations, or the continuation of a new era of security governance that began after the end of the Cold War. To better understand these two visions, an attempt is made to clarify the concepts of hegemony and security governance and the hypotheses linked to these two approaches. Specifically, it is illustrated why the policies of the US since September 11 might not only be perceived as hegemonic, but also as imperialist within the context of neorealist theorizing

Security governance and networks: New theoretical perspectives in transatlantic security

The end of the Cold War has not only witnessed the rise of new transnational threats such as terrorism, crime, proliferation and civil war; it has also seen the growing role of non-state actors in the provision of security in Europe and North America. Two concepts in particular have been used to describe these transformations: security governance and networks. However, the differences and potential theoretical utility of these two concepts for the study of contemporary security have so far been under-examined. This article seeks to address this gap. It proposes that security governance can help to explain the transformation of Cold War security structures, whereas network analysis is particularly useful for understanding the relations and interactions between public and private actors in the making and implementation of national and international security policies

Creating Multilevel Security Governance in South America

South America’s security agenda demands the simultaneous management of domestic crises, interstate conflicts and transnational threats. Though located at different systemic levels (national, international, transnational), the three conflict clusters are often interrelated and tend to overlap in the region’s border areas. The region’s policy makers, aware of this highly complex agenda and in spite of their striking differences, have tended to build regional structures of authority that coordinate, manage and rule collective responses to these threats. In addition, the unilateral, bilateral and multilateral structures and the region’s capabilities to solve conflicts have become more important than the respective inter- American bodies over the past decade. Given this shift in the management of regional security affairs, we ask if a multilevel approach on the part of an overarching security architecture is more effective than separate governance schemes regarding each specific security threat. Since neither the traditional models of power balancing and alliance building nor the security-community approach can sufficiently explain the region’s security dynamics, we assume and provide evidence that different systems of security governance overlap and coexist in South America.Central African Republic, peace process, political parties, rebel movements,representation