Strategic alliances: Elixirs, poison pills or virtual integration? A longitudinal exploration of industry-level learning in biotech

This dissertation augments extant strategic alliance theory with an industry-level learning perspective. It found evidence that shared beliefs exist in the biotech industry about the benefits and problems with strategic alliances (SAs). These taken-for granted industry-level SA understandings or recipes developed through the sensemaking of interacting "experts" facing uncertain situations. Since the social construction of common rationalities or recipes reflect the learning of industry participants, changes over time in SA recipe understandings signal that industry-level learning occurred.;The staggered development of these four recipes suggests that industry level learning occurred from 1984 through 1994 (the study period) about the benefits and problems associated with the use of interfirm biotech collaborations. Additionally, different biotech group recipes were identified reflecting three separate epistemic (influential, insightful, interacting professionals who share a set of causal and principled beliefs) communities in the biotech industry: (1) dedicated biotech company executives; (2) Pharmaceutical (pharma) executives knowledgeable about biotech SAs; (3) analysts and consultants who study/observe biotech alliances.;This dissertation takes a needed step in deepening our understanding of alliances as strategic options. Changes in the content of identified biotech SA recipes from 1986 to 1994 give direct evidence of industry-level learning about SAs in biotechnology. The content of identified biotech SA recipes refines extant SA theory by presenting an exciting new understanding of interfirm alliance as a revolutionary strategic firm preference and an appropriate option to vertical integration for entrepreneurial firms with limited resources. Knowing the specific content of biotech SA recipes and more about how industry-learning about SAs was disseminated, evolved and changed is a critical step in defining how firms' actions are linked to their industry's recipes.;Future research is suggested to better determine whether specific industry-level beliefs identified here in biotech SA recipes became institutionalized norms significantly influencing individual firm's choices.;Using a priori protocols and definitions four biotech SA recipes were systematically identified: (1) the 1986 industry-wide contact/collaboration (C/C) recipe, (2) the 1989 industry-wide strategic alliance (SA) recipe, (3) the 1990 dedicated biotech company (DBC) poison pill (PP) recipe, and (4) the 1994 virtual integration (VI) analyst group recipe.