Alliances for Innovation at Knowledge-Intensive Organizations: The Case of Mexico
Abstract
Technological alliances between knowledge-intensive organizations face challenges related to the efficiency of the linkage, its effectiveness, duration, and even its expected impact on the innovation. However, organizations do not know about some of these challenges in advance. This paper analyzes the factors that influence the formation of this kind of alliances in the Mexican industrial sector. According to the hypothesis proposed here, alliances between knowledge-intensive organizations are affected by distortions, discrepancies, and application empiricisms due to the incomplete vision of their leaders. This study used questionnaires and interviews with relevant actors at two Mexican knowledge-intensive organizations (one in the academic sector and the other in the productive sector) in order to identify the resources they already had before the formalization of technological alliances and how they can support decision-making. The results revealed that the role leaders play tends to make the strategic position of their organizations more robust, as long as research activities complement the available resources and capabilities, which can consolidate the collaboration. In conclusion, inter-organizational alliances are essential for success in the business world and different sectors; however, they do not always meet the expectations of their participants.
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