Technological Diversification and Strategic Alliances

This paper examines empirically the relationship between the internal technological profile and the diversification through strategic alliances of the largest 219 industrial firms world-wide. It explores three related issues. First, the paper shows that firms? internal technological diversification is more pronounced than external technological diversification. Second, it confirms the idea that technological diversification is more pronounced than product and market diversification. Finally, by means of multiple correlation analysis, this work studies the relationship between firms? economic performance, internal technological diversification and diversification through strategic alliances. The empirical investigation combines firm level data on US patents, strategic technological alliances, production and marketing alliances, and firms? economic performances.-

Innovating through strategic alliances: moving towards international partnerships and contractual agreements

Strategic alliances are becoming ever more popular, particularly to undertake technological development activities. Their rapid growth since the 1980s is regarded as further evidence of globalisation. In this paper we analyse the trends in strategic technology partnering (STP). In particular, the use of international STP has grown, although less so by US firms than European and Japanese ones. In addition, there has been a growing use of non-equity agreements, which seem to be a superior means to undertake technological development in high-technology and fast-evolving sectors. Among other things, our analysis suggests that as far as STP is concerned, firms appear to do whatever firms in the same industry do, regardless of nationality.international economics and trade ;

Inter-firm technology transfer: Partnership-embedded licensing or standard licensing agreements?

When companies decide to engage in technology transfer through licensing to other firms, they have two basic options: to use standard licensing contracts or to set-up more elaborate partnership-embedded licensing agreements. We find that broader partnership-embedded licensing agreements are preferred with higher levels of technological sophistication of industries, with greater perceived effectiveness of secrecy as a means of appropriability, and when licensors are smaller than their licensees. Innovative differentials between companies, innovative supremacy of the licensor, and market and technological overlap between partners appear to have no effect on the preference for a particular form of licensing.technology transfer, licensing, inter-firm partnership, innovation