Dual Networks of Knowledge Flows: An Empirical Test of Complementarity in Software Ecosystems

We develop a conceptualization of the firm as simultaneously existing in multiple networks in which each network provides access to different knowledge resources and is subject to different governance mechanisms. At its most parsimonious, firms have two knowledge-acquisition mechanisms: a formal, fine-grained, contractual governance mechanism through inter-firm alliances and a non-formal, coarsegrained, non-contractual mechanism of spillover capture. We operationalize the conceptual model with data from the software industry, test the additive and super-additive effects of a firm’s position in the alliance network and patent citation network, and interpret the results as evidence of dual knowledge flows.