John Hagedoorn

Measuring innovative performance: is there an advantage in using multiple indicators?

Abstract The innovative performance of companies has been studied quite extensively and for a long period of time. However, the results of many studies have not yet led to a generally accepted indicator of innovative performance or a common set of indicators. So far the variety in terms of constructs, measurements, samples, industries and countries has been substantial. This paper studies the innovative performance of a large international sample of nearly 1200 companies in four high-tech industries, using a variety of indicators. These indicators range from R&D inputs, patent counts and patent citations to new product announcements. The study establishes that a composite construct based on these four indicators clearly catches a latent variable ‘innovative performance’. However, our findings also suggest that the statistical overlap between these indicators is that strong that future research might also consider using any of these indicators to measure the innovative performance of companies in high-tech industries.

THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION AND EVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS OF INTERORGANIZATIONAL ALLIANCES AND NETWORKS

An oxygen absorbent composition consisting essentially of (a) an oxygen absorbent comprising a dithonite as a main component and (b) a fiber material in an amount of from about 1 to about 50 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the oxygen absorbent and a process for producing the same are disclosed.

External Sources of Innovative Capabilities: The Preferences for Strategic Alliances or Mergers and Acquisitions

This paper explores the preferences that companies have as they use alternative (quasi) external sources of innovative competencies such as strategic technology alliances, mergers and acquisitions, or a mix of these. These alternatives are studied in the context of distinct industrial, technological and international settings during the first half of the 1990s. Different strategies followed by companies and the role played by routinized sets of preferences are also taken into consideration. The analysis demonstrates that these options are influenced by both different environmental conditions and firm specific circumstances, such as those related to protecting core businesses.

Learning in Dynamic Inter-Firm Networks: The Efficacy of Multiple Contacts

This paper examines the relevance of both efficiency-based and learning-based network behaviour in the context of inter-firm partnering. The effect of these different forms of network behaviour on company performance is analyzed for companies in the international computer industry. Strategies associated with learning through so-called exploratory networks appear to generate a greater impact on technological performance in a dynamic environment than efficiency strategies through exploitative networks.

The Effect of Mergers and Acquisitions on the Technological Performance of Companies in a High-tech Environment

A large part of the literature from industrial organization and management expects that, compared with unrelated M&As, related M&As show superior economic performance because of synergetic effects that follow from economies of scale and scope. The current contribution takes the debate on the effect of different M&As somewhat further by studying the effect of M&As on the technological performance of companies. In this study the technological performance of M&As is related to a hightech sector, i.e. the international computer industry. The main result of this research is that the so-called strategic and organizational fit between companies involved in M&As seem to play an important role in improving the technological performance of companies

Strategic technology partnering during the 1980s: Trends, networks and corporate patterns in non-core technologies

Abstract The growth of the number of inter-firm strategic technology alliances during the 1980s has led to considerable attention to this phenomenon in recent years. In this paper an attempt is made to understand not only basic trends in the growth of inter-firm cooperation in sectors such as chemicals, aviation/defence, automotive and heavy electrical equipment, but also to reveal the role played by a large group of cooperating companies. The research is based on a large databank with information on thousands of alliances and their participating companies. Through statistical analysis it is possible to identify the major players within these sectors. The analysis enables us to recognize the major international networks of inter-firm alliances, the changes over time and different positions taken by world leading companies.

Organizational modes of inter-firm co-operation and technology transfer

Abstract In economic analyses co-operative agreements are occasionally discussed with reference to their dissimilarity in organizational and economic ‘solidity’ and the impact of separate modes of co-operation on economic performance. However, many studies still refer only to joint ventures and apparently assume that other forms of co-operation share identical features. Nevertheless, it should be clear that co-operative agreements differ with respect to both organizational and economic effects. For example, a joint venture is a new company established by two or more partners and, as such, it introduces a change in an existing market structure; a licensing agreement, which regulates technology transfer in return for a fee, definitely has less far-reaching consequences for the companies involved. In other words, it is important to note that the organizational design of co-operation can be expected to be related to the strategies and economic performance of companies, reflecting their ability to model their inter-firm relationships. The major objective of this paper is to present a detailed overview of different modes of inter-firm co-operation. This study shows the variety of inter-firm agreements, reflecting the complexity and dynamics of private governing structures in capitalist economies which are attempting to cope with the present far-reaching consequences of technological development.

The Transition from Strategic Technology Alliances to Mergers and Acquisitions: An Exploratory Study

This paper studies a number of research topics derived from the basic question: do interfirm alliances change into mergers and acquisitions as companies that were previously co‐operating become integrated? The analysis is limited to the group of strategic technology alliances, i.e. those interfirm agreements for which joint technology development or technology sharing is part of the agreement. The paper first explores the literature that refers to the possible transition from strategic technology alliances to mergers and acquisitions. Based on this we formulate a number of hypotheses regarding the change in modes of governance and several dimensions of this process related to the international distribution of transformed alliances, their industry specificity, the size of firms, and the distribution of contractual and equity agreements. The major finding of our research is that the transformation from strategic technology alliance to merger and acquisition hardly ever takes place. This suggests that alliances and mergers and acquisitions are not part of a rather smooth continuum but they are first of all different modes of governance where one mode certainly does not lead to the other

Core competences and company performance in the world-wide computer industry

Abstract This paper contributes to the understanding of the importance of dynamic firm capabilities for company performance in isolating the effect of the creation of core competences on the performance of companies in the international computer industry. It discusses and tests the assumed relation between different dimensions of core competences and performance. This is followed by a further study of the relation between the external appropriation of core competences through mergers and acquisitions, as well as through strategic technology alliances. A major conclusion of this study is that a specific set of endogenous technological core capabilities is needed to generate performance differentials. Also, the external appropriation of competences does not seem to be an easy solution through which companies can improve their existing capabilities in the short-run.

Inter-Firm R&D Networks: The Importance of Strategic Network Capabilities for High-Tech Partnership Formation

We examine the role of different network capabilities of companies that influence the formation of R&D partnerships in pharmaceutical biotechnology. Strategic network capabilities, specifically centrality-based capabilities and the efficiency with which companies choose their partners, are found to facilitate the formation of new partnerships. Unlike general experience with partnering, these strategic network capabilities play a crucial role in enabling companies to continue to interact with other companies through partnerships in a complex network setting.