A Temporal Perspective on Learning Alliance Formation

Abstract

When to enter the first learning alliance has strategic implications for firms’ long term success. However, research on timing of the first learning alliance is rare. As one of the few empirical studies on this issue, this paper aims to fill the gap by asking what the implications are when firms launch their first learning alliance at different points of time. Empirical results support the central proposition that if firms enter the first learning alliance too early or too late, they tend to rush into a second learning alliance in a short period of time. In the long run, they will lose the ability to innovate. Overall, this study has fundamental implications for organizational learning in particular and theory building in general.