The Impacts of Alliance Purpose and Partner Similarity on Alliance Governance
研究了联盟目的（研发或营销）和文化距离如何影响企业选择股权还是非股权联盟结构，基于全球生物技术行业2407个联盟样本发现合作研发联盟更可能采用股权形式。
It is generally recognized that the governance structure of an alliance has an impact on its probability of success. In this study, we examine the choice between two alternative alliance governance structures: equity and non‐equity. Drawing from transaction cost economics, two sets of factors, namely alliance purpose (R&D or marketing) and cultural distance between partners, are hypothesized to influence the above choice. We further hypothesize that collaborative R&D alliances, where both parties contribute technical knowledge, are more likely to lead to the formation of equity alliances than non‐collaborative research agreements, where only one partner may be doing the research work. Based on a sample of 2407 alliances formed in the global biotechnology industry, we find partial support for the hypothesized relationships. Specifically, we find that collaborative R&D alliances are more likely to be equity alliances, whereas non‐collaborative R&D alliances do not have any impact on the choice of the governance form. We also find that alliances formed with a marketing purpose are less likely to be equity alliances. We did not find any relationship between cultural distance and the choice of equity alliances.