Termination Outcomes of High-tech Alliances: Bridging Firm- and Transaction-specific Antecedents

This paper examines how alliance experience accumulation at the parent firm level and alliance features at the transaction level jointly and interactively shape the termination outcomes of high-tech collaborative agreements. We draw upon the knowledge-based view of the firm and work on governance design to differentiate alliance termination outcomes, investigate where favorable terminations occur, and evaluate factors from multiple levels of analysis affecting alliance dynamics. The evidence suggests that partner-specific experience is beneficial for non-equity alliances affording less control than equity structures as this experience facilitates the development of inter-partner routines. Broad-based collaborative experience and alliance experience in a technological domain do not affect how alliances end, however. The findings also indicate that alliance complexity and how parent firms assign responsibilities among themselves influence alliance termination outcomes.