Co-exploitation (or co-exploration) vs go it alone? The role of alliance learning capability on firm performance
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing
ISSN: 0885-8624
Article publication date: 23 September 2021
Issue publication date: 15 April 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the moderating role of a firm’s alliance learning capability. The aim is to investigate the comparative performance of developing exploitation (or exploration) activities in collaboration with others vs adopting a go-it-alone posture.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors compare high levels of co-exploitation (or co-exploration) that represent the collaboration stance vs low levels of co-exploitation (or co-exploration) that characterize the go-it-alone posture. Data were collected using a sample of 262 manufacturing firms that developed exploitation-based innovations and 239 exploration-based innovations. Regression models were used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Empirical results suggest that the best performance is reached by firms that exploit or explore collaborating with others at high levels of alliance learning capability. In contrast, firms perform better by going alone in exploitation activities at low levels of alliance learning capability.
Practical implications
Firms may complement internal efforts of exploitation or exploration by co-developing knowledge with other organizations for higher performance. However, collaborating with others is not free of drawbacks, and, under certain circumstances, the go-it-alone strategy is more convenient.
Originality/value
This paper provides evidence of the role of a firm’s alliance learning capability in determining the differential performance of carrying on exploitation or exploration activities in collaboration with others vs adopting a go-it-alone stance. Thus, it offers an alternative perspective in the literature on organizational learning and innovation management, in contrast with the exploitation and exploration balanced perspective of ambidexterity, by explaining how alliance learning capability fosters firm performance combining exploitation or exploration at organizational and inter-organizational levels.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers and the financial support from Universidad del Valle (Cali, Colombia) Project C.I. 8112-2014 Vicerrectoría de Investigaciones, the National Center for Technical Assistance to Industry (Centro Nacional de Asistencia Técnica a la Industria ASTIN) of the National Training Service (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje SENA) from Colombia Project 0288-2014, and this research is partly supported by Project ECO2013-47969-P (Spanish’s Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness).
Citation
Solís-Molina, M., Hernández-Espallardo, M. and Rodríguez-Orejuela, A. (2022), "Co-exploitation (or co-exploration) vs go it alone? The role of alliance learning capability on firm performance", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 37 No. 5, pp. 1045-1062. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-11-2020-0526
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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