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Although some theorists suggest that the resource-based view could be a new theory of the firm, it is still part of a developing paradigm in strategy research (Amit & Shoemaker, 1993; Barney, 1991; Conner, 1991; Conner & Prahalad, 1996; Grant, 1996; Mahoney & Pandian, 1992; Media, 1996; Miller & Shame, 1996; Roth, 1995). The usefulness and richness of the paradigm need to be demonstrated in a variety of strategy areas. Indeed, researchers are still in the phase of accumulating applications of the resource-based view. For example, Peter (1993) shows that sustainable differences in firm profitability that cannot be attributed to industrial differences can be better explained by the resource based view. Our understanding of diversification strategy is also enhanced because the resource-based view strongly argues for strategic relatedness within a conglomerate (Chatterjee & Wernerfelt, 1991). Harrison, Hitt, Hoskisson, and Ireland (1991) examined the performance of mergers and acquisitions through a resource -based perspective.
Global strategy, technological strategy, and strategic regulation have also been studied by applying the resource-based view (Collis, 1991; Leonard-Barton, 1992; Major & Van Witteloostuijn, 1996). One area that remains under-explored in the literature is the resource-based view of strategic alliances, even though such alliances are rapidly increasing in importance in today's competitive landscape (Das & Teng, in press; Doz & Hamel, 1998; Gomes-Casseres, 1996; Yoshino & Range, 1995). A resource-based view seems particularly appropriate for examining strategic alliances because firms essentially use alliances to gain access to other firms' valuable resources. Thus, firm resources provide a relevant basis for studying alliances. The few studies that have applied the resource-based perspective to strategic alliances cover only limited aspects (e. g. , Blodgett, 1991; Eisenhardt & Schoonhoven, 1996; Kogut, 1988; Money, Oxley, & Silverman, 1998; Rouse & Daellenbach, 1999; Tyler & Steensma, 1995, 1998; Varadarajan & Cunningham, 1995).
Focusing exclusively on the resource-based view of strategic alliances, Eisenhardt and Schoonhoven (1996) found essentially that alliances are more likely to be formed when bot h firms are in vulnerable strategic positions (i. e. , in need of resources) or when they are in strong social positions (i. e. , possess valuable resources to share). Other researchers have tackled only selected aspects of alliances, such as organizational knowledge (Kogut, 1988) and international business (Blodgett, 1991; Lyles & Salk, 1997).
Thus, a general resource-based theory of strategic alliances has yet to emerge. Our purpose here is to develop a more encompassing resource-based theory of strategic alliances than is available in the extant literature. We divide the article into four parts. First, we examine the rationale for entering into strategic alliances from a resource perspective, as compared with a transaction-cost perspective. We then identify the resource characteristics of individual firms that are the antecedents of alliance formation. Third, we discuss structural preferences for alliances, as determined by the resource types of partner firms.
Finally, we develop a typology of inter-partner resource alignments and explore the effects of these resource alignments on alliance performance. The four parts of the article set out the four essential components of a resource-based theory of strategic alliances: rationale, formation, structure, and performance. These four components are integral to a general theory of alliances, because they have been the main focus of alliance research. What has been lacking in the literature thus far is the fact that none of these aspects has been adequately examined from the resource-based perspective.
Taken together, the four aspects contribute toward a comprehensive and integrated theory of strategic alliances from the resource-based viewpoint. To facilitate empirical testing of the resource-based theory of strategic alliances presented here, we also develop a number of propositions. We represent in Figure 1 a schematic of our exposition.
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Research essay sample on Strategic Alliances Four Parts
