Mergers And Acquisitions Or Alliances? Strategic Choices Of Focal Firms Based On Technological Complementarity And Consumer Complementarity And Their Mechanisms Of Action

The innovation ecosystem is composed of focal firms,complementors and users,etc.Complementarity is a typical characteristic of innovation ecosystem and a key element to determine the innovation success of focal firms in the ecosystem.However,how to choose the appropriate synergistic strategy based on different types of complementarities is an important issue that focal firms need to solve urgently.Based on the transaction cost theory and value-based view,this paper conducts a case study on Apple Inc.in the United States and applies a cross-sectional comparative analysis to analyze the process and mechanism of M&A or alliance strategies adopted by focal firms in innovation ecosystems based on technological complementarity and consumer complementarity,so as to clarify the logic of strategic choices of focal firms in innovation ecosystems.The study finds that there are differences in the strategic choices of focal firms within the innovation ecosystem due to different complementarities.Based on technological complementarity,focal firms tend to adopt M&A strategies to reduce their own transaction costs,enhance the value of focal products and increase their own revenue,while based on consumer complementarity,focal firms tend to adopt alliance strategies to reduce the transaction costs of the whole innovation ecosystem,enhance the value of complementary products and achieve value co-creation.The research results clarify the reasons for focal firms to adopt M&A and alliance strategies in innovation ecosystems,reveal the link between complementarities and firms’ strategic choices,further enrich the research on strategic choices in innovation ecosystems,and provide useful references and lessons for the strategic choices and implementation of firms in the ecosystem.