Managers' marketing alliance formation behavior : The role of external factors and managers' personality traits

Abstract

Market conditions pose a considerable challenge for companies as they face the need to create value. Researchers as well as managers have repeatedly stressed the importance of alliances to cope with these challenges and to create value for customers. Research so far has addressed several aspects with regard to alliances, such as their formation, their management, and performance consequences. This research suggests that alliance formation is contingent on external conditions such as the competitive or the market environment and internal resource endowments. However, managerial characteristics as drivers of alliance formation have been largely neglected so far. Especially alliances in marketing pose a relevant research area due to their frequent occurrence and their large potential to impact companies’ performance. Despite this, the formation of marketing alliances has not been studied before. The objective of this study, therefore, is to investigate external drivers of marketing alliance formation as well as the impact of managerial characteristics in this context. Hypotheses are derived based on strategic behavior and resource dependency theories, RBV as well as the upper echelon’s perspective. To test the hypotheses, we follow an experimental research design and investigate managers’ marketing alliance formation propensity. Results show that competitive intensity has a positive impact and market maturity has a negative impact on marketing alliance formation propensity. We could also demonstrate the impact of managers’ personality traits. Marketing experience and managers’ proactive behavior have a positive effect on managers’ propensity to establish marketing alliances. Additionally, we find moderating effects of these personality traits. Companies which are planning engagement in marketing alliances should, therefore, be aware of the personality traits of key marketing decision makers