Elsevier

Research Policy

Volume 21, Issue 1, February 1992, Pages 45-62
Research Policy

Agreements between firms and the technological life cycle model: Evidence from information technologies

https://doi.org/10.1016/0048-7333(92)90026-ZGet rights and content

Abstract

Contrarily to most previous contributions which have addressed the issue of cooperative agreements essentially in a perspective of comparative statics, in this paper a model is proposed that relies on the technological trajectory notion suggested by evolutionary theories and emphasizes the relevance of the technological and market dynamics in explaining why and to what extent firms have recourse to agreements. In particular, it is claimed that the propensity of firms towards collaborative ventures and the characteristics of the cooperation depend upon the phase of the technological life cycle of the industry branch in which the cooperation takes place.

Based on a cross-sectional analysis of 45 industry branches in the Information Technology industrial system, the paper also provides empirical evidence supporting the argument that the propensity towards agreements and the nature of the agreements concluded do change during the technological life cycle. To this end, it takes advantage of the ARPA database, developed at the Polytechnic of Milan and containing detailed information on over 2,000 agreements concluded in the 1980–1986 period all over the world in the semiconductor, data processing and telecommunications industries.

References (44)

  • W.J. Abernathy et al.

    A Dynamic Model of Product and Process Innovation

    Omega

    (1975)
  • K.J. Blois

    Vertical Quasi-integration

    Journal of Industrial Economics

    (1972)
  • T.F. Bresnahan et al.

    Quantifying the Competitive Effects of Production Joint Ventures

    International Journal of Industrial Organization

    (1986)
  • G.C. Cainarca et al.
  • R. Camagni et al.

    Gli accordi di cooperazione come nuove forme di sviluppo esterno delle imprese

    Economia e Politica Industriale

    (1988)
  • S. Carbonin et al.

    Gli accordi internazionali nel settore delle tecnologie informatiche: I risultati di un'analisi empirica

    Economia e Politica Industriale

    (1987)
  • F. Chesnais

    Technical Cooperation Agreements between Firms

    STI Review

    (1989)
  • C.U. Ciborra et al.
  • M.G. Colombo

    Accordi di cooperazione, complessita' relazionale ed organizzazione degli oligopoli internazionali

    Economia e Politica Industriale

    (1990)
  • G. Dosi

    Technological Paradigms and Technological Trajectories

    Research Policy

    (1982)
  • G. Dosi

    Sources, Procedures, and Microeconomic Effects of Innovation

    Journal of Economic Literature

    (1988)
  • D. Flath

    Vertical Integration by Means of Shareholding Interlocks

    International Journal of Industrial Organization

    (1989)
  • D.R. Fusfeld

    Joint Subsidiaries in the Iron and Steel Industry

    American Economic Review

    (1958)
  • P. Ghemawat et al.
  • M. Gort et al.

    Time Paths in the Diffusion of Product Innovations

    Economic Journal

    (1982)
  • G. Hamel et al.

    Strategic Partnerships: Success or Surrender?

    (1986)
  • K. Harrigan

    Strategic Alliances and Partner Asymmetries

  • K.J. Hladik

    International Joint Ventures: An Economic Analysis of U.S.-Foreign Business Partnerships

    (1985)
  • A. Jacquemin

    Compétition européenne et coopération entre entreprises en matière de recherche-développement

    (1986)
  • Larea-Cerem

    Intégration ou éclatement de l'espace industriel européen

    Les stratégies d'accord des groupes de la CEE

    (1986)
  • S. Mariotti et al.

    Diversification, Agreements between Firms and Innovative Behaviour

    Ricerche Economiche

    (1986)
  • P. Mariti et al.

    Cooperation Agreements and the Organization of Industry

    Journal of Industrial Economics

    (1982)
  • Cited by (62)

    • Influence of Institutional Differences on Firm Innovation from International Alliances

      2016, Long Range Planning
      Citation Excerpt :

      High knowledge-intensity and rapid pace of technological advance induce firms from such sectors to share technologies and to collaborate in R&D. Indeed, collaboration in research and technology sharing are common at the early stages of development of such technologies (Cainarca et al., 1992). Data on alliances is collected from ReCap.com and BioScan, two sector-specific databases that have extensively informed previous research in this sector (e.g., Deeds and Hill, 1996; George et al., 2002).

    • The joint evolution of alliance networks and technology: A survey of the empirical literature

      2013, Technological Forecasting and Social Change
      Citation Excerpt :

      Some other papers measure the impact of network diversity on variables other than technology, such as the formation of new ties [59], the formation of alliances versus acquisitions [71] and on attractiveness as a new partner [56]. Bierly and Coombs [21], Cainarca et al. [22] and Rosenkopf and Padula [59] investigated the reverse relationship. Three papers measure causal relationships between technology and network, two of which are related to the technology life cycle [21,22].

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    This paper makes reference to the surveys and studies carried out by the authors within the framework of the research project “Information Technology and Agreements Between Firms” sponsored by the Adriano Olivetti Foundation. The work was also backed by the MPI 40 percent research grant “New Forms of Industrial Organization”. The authors wish to thank Cristiano Antonelli, Claudio Ciborra, Giovanni Dosi, Bruno Lamborghini, Paolo Mariti, Fabrizio Onida, Franco Russolillo, Gino Scotti, Gianfranco Viesti, Antonello Zanfei and three anonymous referees for their comments and suggestions. A preliminary version of this paper was presented at the 16th annual E.A.R.I.E. conference.

    View full text