Strategic alliances: a valuable way to manage intellectual capital?
| Published date | 01 March 2003 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14691930310455351 |
| Date | 01 March 2003 |
| Pages | 10-19 |
| Author | Somnath Das,Pradyot K. Sen,Sanjit Sengupta |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,HR & organizational behaviour,Information & knowledge management |
Strategic alliances: a valuable
way to manage intellectual
capital?
Somnath Das
University of Illinois-Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Pradyot K. Sen
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Sanjit Sengupta
San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, USA
Keywords Intellectual capital, Marketing, Alliances, Strategic alliances, Technology,
Value analysis
Abstract Considers two forms of strategic alliances, technological and marketing, and examines
how these alliances foster formation and maintenance of intellectual capital. Empirical evidence
suggests that on average, strategic alliances do create value for shareholders that is consistent with
the creation of intellectual capital. Between the two, technological alliances are potentially more
beneficial than marketing alliances, and more likely to create intellectual capital. Empirical evidence
is consistent with the notion that the gains from alliances are not shared equally by all the partners.
When intellectual capital is created by the smaller or financially weaker partner, the return may be
appropriately captured by the owner of such capital through strategic alliances. However, if the
intellectual capital is created by the larger or financially stronger firm which moves first in an
alliance relationship, the return on this intellectual capital may be subject to opportunistic
exploitation by the late moving partner.
Unfortunately, few managers are prepared for a world in which the boundaries between
collaboration and competition are unclear and in which the answer to the questions “Who are
my friends? Who are my enemies?” is not easy and can change overnight (Doz and Hamel,
1998, p. xv).
Introduction
The management literature recognizes the potential for organizations to realize
benefits through cooperation. In this literature, it is often argued that value
creation and synergy can occur through business unit combinations leading to
common ownership as well as independent firms forming contractual strategic
alliances based on mutual understanding (Aaker, 1995; Porter, 1985; Bucklin
and Sengupta, 1993). In contemporary strategic management literature,
discussions on “hybrid organizational arrangements” include joint ventures,
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister http://www.emeraldinsight.com/1469-1930.htm
This paper has benefited from the authors’ discussions with and comments from Pete Bucklin,
Brian Ratchford, and especially Baruch Lev who kindly provided them with the opportunity to
share this with a larger audience. The paper is in part based on the material presented at the 4th
Intangibles Conference on “Advances in the Measurement of Intangible (Intellectual) Capital”
organized by New York University’s Stern School of Business in May 2001.
JIC
4,1
10
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 4 No. 1, 2003
pp. 10-19
qMCB UP Limited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/14691930310455351
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