The Impact of External Contexts on Alliance Governance in Biotech–Pharmaceutical Firm Alliances

The interest in strategic alliances has increased over the years, especially in high tech global industries such as biotechnology, as firms seek to gain access to needed resources, expertise, and knowledge for developing and commercializing new products and technologies. The governance structure of these alliances, which is an important consideration in understanding alliance formation and performance, is influenced by both external and internal contexts of the alliance partners. However, evidence from prior research has been inconclusive regarding the impact of external contexts on alliance governance selection. To better understand this impact, we simultaneously examine three key partner external contexts - international, technological, and social contexts, and their influence on biotechnology-pharmaceutical alliance governance structure selection. Using a sample of 389 alliances formed during the six-year period 1995 through 2000, we find that the international context, specifically national cultural distance between alliance partners, and the social context, specifically credibility of the biotechnology partner in the alliance network, influence governance structure selection. We offer implications of our findings for theory, future research, and management practice

Navigating the innovation landscape: past research, present practice, and future trends

The management of innovation is among the most critical capabilities contributing to the success of modern organizations. It is also complex and frequently misunderstood. In this paper we first provide a broad overview of the organizational innovation literature [the Past] to distill five fundamental themes: What is innovation, why is it important, where does it come from, who engages in it, and how can it be best executed? Second, we illustrate how these concepts are applied by three companies on the vanguard of innovation management [the Present] – Google, Walt Disney, and Johnson & Johnson. Third, we project the discussion forward by considering key issues and emerging trends [the Future] of innovation management such as nanotechnology, ethical dilemmas, information technology, globalization, and sustainability. Fourth, we derive from the above analyses concrete guidelines for managers to leverage these insights and enable more effective innovation practices

Dancing with wolves: how R&D human capital can benefit from coopetition

This research examines the impact of coopetition (i.e., competitor alliances) on the development of internal R&D human capital. The authors collect survey data from 111 biotech firms in Spain and US. Results show a mediation relationship: coopetition increases a firm's internal R&D human capital via its proactiveness to pursue R&D partnerships. In order to examine the mechanism behind competitor alliances, the authors investigate two moderators, alliance satisfaction and alliance coordination. The authors argue that the two factors exert opposite moderation effects on the relationship between coopetition and proactiveness to pursue R&D partnerships. Results show that when a firm and its alliance partners are satisfied with each other, the effect of coopetition on proactiveness decreases, but the moderation effect of alliance coordination, though opposite, is not significant

N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone-degrading Pseudomonas aeruginosa PsDAHP1 protects zebrafish against Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection

Four strains of N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (AHL)-degrading Pseudomonas spp., named PsDAHP1, PsDAHP2, PsDAHP3, and PsDAHP4 were isolated and identified from the intestine of Fenneropenaeus indicus. PsDAHP1 showed the highest AHL-degrading activity among the four isolates. PsDAHP1 inhibited biofilm-forming exopolysaccharide and altered cell surface hydrophobicity of virulent green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged Vibrio parahaemolyticus DAHV2 (GFP-VpDAHV2). Oral administration of PsDAHP1 significantly reduced zebrafish mortality caused by GFP-VpDAHV2 challenge, and inhibited colonisation of GFP-VpDAHV2 in the gills and intestine of zebrafish as evidence by confocal laser scanning microscope and selective plating. Furthermore, zebrafish receiving PsDAHP1-containing feed had increased phagocytic cells of its leucocytes, increased serum activities of superoxide dismutase and lysozyme. The results suggest that Pseudomonas aeruginosa PsDAHP1 could protect zebrafish from V. parahaemolyticus infection by inhibiting biofilm formation and enhancing defence mechanisms of the fish

Needle(s) in the Haystack – Synchronous Multifocal Tumor Induced Osteomalacia

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Endocrine Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/jc.2015-3854MG is supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre