Intellectual capital or signal? The effects of scientists on alliance formation in knowledge-intensive industries

Hiring employees with advanced education, training, and experience has been a prevalent human resource practice in dynamic science-based industries, and a growing body of literature has demonstrated the importance of scientists in such fields. Little research has attempted to distinguish the functional from the symbolic roles of scientists, however. We develop an integrative theoretical framework to separate the productive and legitimating effects of scientists on strategic alliance formation of firms. Results from a longitudinal analysis of more than 300 U.S. biotechnology firms between 1988 and 1999 suggest a positive relationship between ratio of scientists and R&D alliance partners as well as a positive relationship with finance alliance partners. Scientists influence partner attraction more strongly for firms that are less-well-connected, and they become less prominent in fostering finance ties as the industry practice of partnership becomes more institutionalized. We conclude that scientists serve more than just a research function in knowledge-intensive industries. Implications for building interorganizational networks and managing human resources in such industries are discussed.Intellectual capital Strategic alliance Human capital theory Institutional theory Biotechnology industry

Escalation at the credit window: A longitudinal study of bank executives’ recognition and write off of problem loans

Although the escalation literature has grown steadily over the past 20 years, there has been very little research bridging the gap between laboratory experiments and qualitative field studies on escalation. What has been missing are quantitative tests of escalation hypotheses in their natural context. This study helps fill such a gap by testing the responsibility hypothesis within the banking industry. It was predicted that the turnover of senior bank managers would lead to a deescalation of commitment to problem loans. Data collected from 132 California banks over a 9-year period showed that bank executive turnover predicted both provisions for loan losses and the write-off of bad loans. In contrast, provisions and write-offs were not found to influence executive turnover. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of both the escalation literature and practical ways to improve decision making in the banking industry. During the 1980s, the United States experienced a breakdown in its savings and loan (S&L) industry and a near bankruptcy of its commercial banking system. At the heart of these financial maladies was the enormous quantit

2005), 'Network dynamics and field evolution: The growth of interorganizational collaboration in the life sciences

A recursive analysis of network and institutional evolution is offered to account for the decentralized structure of the commercial field of the life sciences. Four alternative logics of attachment—accumulative advantage, homophily, follow-the-trend, and multiconnectivity—are tested to explain the structure and dynamics of interorganizational collaboration in biotechnology. Using multiple novel methods, the authors demonstrate how different rules for affiliation shape network evolution. Commercialization strategies pursued by early corporate entrants are supplanted by universities, research institutes, venture capital, and small firms. As organizations increase their collaborative activities and diversify their ties to others, cohesive subnetworks form, characterized by multiple, independent pathways. These structural components, in turn, condition the choices and opportunities available to members of a field, thereby reinforcing an attachment logic based on differential connections to diverse partners