文档介绍：INTERFIRM DIVERSITY, ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING, AND
LONGEVITY IN GLOBAL STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
Arvind Parkhe*
Indiana University
Abstract. Organizational theorists have correctly argued that
the emergence and maintenance of robust cooperation between
global strategic alliance partners is related to the diversity in
the partners' characteristics. Yet previous research has failed
to systematically delineate the important dimensions of interfirm
diversity and integrate the dimensions into a unified framework
of analysis. This paper develops a multilevel typology of interfirm
diversity and focuses anizational learning and adaptation
as critical processes that dynamically moderate diversity's impact
on alliance longevity and effectiveness.
On March6, 1990, West Germany'sDaimler Benz ($48 billion in sales)
and Japan'sMitsubishi Group ($200 billion in sales) revealed that they
had held 'a secret meeting in Singaporeto work out a plan for intensive
cooperationamong their auto, aerospace,electronics, and other lines of
business. However, combiningoperations of the panies seems
remote:Daimler's orderly German corporate structure doesn't mesh well
with Mitsubishi'sleaderless group management approach' [Business Week
1990b].
This example illustratesan importantparadox in internationalbusiness today.
On one hand, global strategic alliances (GSAs) are being used with increasing
frequency in orderto, inter alia, keep abreastof rapidly changing technologies,
gain access to specific foreign markets and distributionchannels, create new
products,and ease problems of worldwide excess productivecapacity. Indeed,
GSAs are ing an essential feature panies' anizational
structure, petitive advantage increasingly depends not only on a
company's internal capabilities, but also on the types of its alliances and
*ArvindParkhe (., Temple University) is an AssistantProfessor of International
Businessin the Department