Complementarity, status similarity and social capital as drivers of alliance formation
研究美国投资银行在1980年代承销股票发行时，发现能力互补、地位相似和合作经验（社会资本）都促进联盟形成，且社会资本与地位相似性对不确定性更高的首次公开募股影响更大。
Using data on U.S. investment banking firms’ syndication in underwriting corporate stock offerings during the 1980s, this study explores the factors that drive alliance formation between two specific firms. We compare resource complementarity, status similarity, and social capital as a basis of alliance formation. The findings indicate that the likelihood of investment banks’ alliance formation is positively related to the complementarity of their capabilities, as well as their status similarity. Social capital arising from banks’ direct and indirect collaborative experiences also plays a very important role in alliance formation. The number of deals given by a lead bank to a potential partner over the past three years has an inverted U-shaped relationship to the probability that the lead bank will invite the potential partner to form an alliance. Our findings indicate that status similarity and social capital have a stronger effect on alliance formation in initial public offering deals than in secondary offering deals, as the former are more uncertain than the latter. Using these findings, we discuss the role of complementarity, status similarity, and social capital in alliance formation. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.