Strategic alliances between microfirms

Jaouen, Annabelle; Gundolf, Katherine

doi:10.1108/13552550910934459

Cited by 22 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In contrast to other forms of alliances, that allow each dyadic partnership to be managed separately, MPAs are more challenging for SMEs in developing contracts and explicit formal governance mechanisms (Li et al, 2012). Some studies suggest that SMEs tend to create informal alliances, rejecting contracts (Blomqvist et al, 2008; Massaro et al, 2019) and relying instead on trust (Jaouen and Gundolf, 2009). But, as Thorgren et al (2011) point out, it is difficult to validate trustworthiness for a bundle of firms with different characteristics, intentions and behaviour.…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multipartner alliances among small firms promoted by external managers: Risk and governance mechanisms

Elorza

Sánchez

Araújo

2022

International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurs

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External managers may be key to setting up and managing multi-partner alliances (MPAs) among small firms, but their role has not yet been integrated in previous literature on risk and governance structures. This longitudinal matched-pair case study investigates the dynamics between relational and performance risks and control-based and trust-based governance mechanisms, in MPAs promoted and managed by external managers. The integration of external managers allows the identification of different levels of trust and control among partners. This is also the case between such partners and the external manager who controls/trusts, who is controlled/trusted, and how this changes over time. Our results show that trust and control are influenced by both the external actor and partner’s risk perceptions; they also complement each other to manage high performance and relational risks in a dynamic process. We extend prior knowledge by showing that the analysis of control/trust complementarity must take into consideration both partner-partner and partner-manager relationships.

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Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multipartner alliances among small firms promoted by external managers: Risk and governance mechanisms

Elorza

Sánchez

Araújo

2022

International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurs

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“…Large sized firms are likely to possess more specialised assets, business networks, patents and skilled labour Schakenraad, 1994, Teece, 1986) and, therefore, are more engaged in building strategic alliances than their smaller competitors (Hagedoorn, 1995b). Small sized firms, on the other hand, usually suffer from lack of resources, lack of technology, lack of access to finance and lack of skilled labour (Chung et al, 2006, Harvie and Lee, 2003, Jaouen and Gundolf, 2007. Many researchers have argued that firm size plays an important role in the partnership formation process and in collaborating behaviour (Agardi, 2008, Berg et al, 1982, Burgers et al, 1993.…”

Section: Firm Size and Business Collaborationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Roles of Size and Size Difference in Australian and Chinese Inter-firm Collaborations

Zhang

Cheng

Harvie

2013

AABFJ

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There has been considerable debate on the contribution and significance of firm size to the establishment, operation and success of business collaboration. One important source of this debate arises from differing definitions of firm size used in previous research. This paper uses firm size categories and size differences between collaborating firms to examine their contribution to the formation and performance of inter-firm collaboration in Australia and China. Both qualitative case study and quantitative data analyses are adopted in this paper. Results from both the qualitative case study and quantitative study in Australia and China show that size plays a significant positive role in the formation and performance of business collaboration. Firms prefer collaborating with larger partners. Bigger firms are more likely to achieve success collaborations. However, size difference plays a negative role in business collaboration. Collaborating with a bigger partner makes it harder to succeed. On the other hand, size and size difference play very different roles in performance and outcomes of business collaboration in different countries. This paper compares the roles of firm size and size difference in Australian and Chinese inter-firm collaboration. The results provide important strategic implications for business managers, industry regulators, and policy decision makers regarding international business collaboration.

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“…However, in the specific context of creative micro-enterprises, particularly in the craft sector, very few studies exist. For example, Duarte Alonso and Bressan [26] examined the collaboration between micro firms in Italy that were involved in terracotta art, Jaouen and Gundolf [27] examined specific patterns of strategic alliance among micro firms in France, Torres [25] examined marketing networks among craft enterprises in Ireland, and Gundolf, Jaouen, and Gast [9] recently examined the motives behind strategic alliances between micro creative firms in France. However, none of these studies have examined the effects of vertical co-operation (via innovation) on performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vertical Co-operation in Creative Micro-Enterprises: A Case Study of Textile Crafts of Matiari District, Pakistan

et al. 2019

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Despite their cultural and economic importance, creative micro-enterprises have received very little attention from academia research, especially with respect to vertical co-operation—customers and suppliers—and innovation. This study aims to fill the literature gap by studying how vertical co-operation improves the performance of micro-enterprises in textile crafts through innovation. A questionnaire was used to collect data from creative micro-enterprises in the textile craft sector operating in the Matiari District of Pakistan. To test the construct validity of the research, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were conducted, and to examine the hypotheses, the bootstrap re-sampling method was used with the SPSS PROCESS macro developed by Hayes. The findings of this study indicate that vertical co-operation positively and significantly affects the innovation and performance of creative micro-enterprises in textile crafts. In addition, we find that innovation plays a significant mediating role between vertical co-operation and performance. Furthermore, contrary to some studies, we empirically provide evidence regarding innovation in craft in terms of product development (design, size, shape, color, etc.), improvement in quality, and replacement/modification of tools.

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Strategic alliances between microfirms

Cited by 22 publications

References 31 publications

Multipartner alliances among small firms promoted by external managers: Risk and governance mechanisms

Multipartner alliances among small firms promoted by external managers: Risk and governance mechanisms

The Roles of Size and Size Difference in Australian and Chinese Inter-firm Collaborations

Vertical Co-operation in Creative Micro-Enterprises: A Case Study of Textile Crafts of Matiari District, Pakistan

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