1. Collaboration Strategies “People working together to solve a common problem”

4. exchange information about those common interests

8. Reasons for Going Solo A firm might choose to engage in solo development of a project for a number of reasons. Availability of Capabilities Protecting Proprietary Technologies Controlling Technology Development and Use (retaining complete control over the firm’s technology development and direction) Building and Renewing Capabilities (develop new skills, resources, and market knowledge)

9. Why for collaboration? A firm may choose its technology mix by means other than internal innovation. This may happen for a variety of reasons such as: The firm’s product line is quickly falling behind that of its competitors. A new competitor enters or is about to enter the market, which will change the dynamics of the industry. The firm discovers its processes are not a efficient and/or effective as those of its competitors. The firm believes its current products or processes are not going to be successful in the future.

10. Collaborative Arrangements Collaboration can include partnering with suppliers, customers, competitors, complementors, organizations that offer similar products in different markets, organizations that offer different products in similar markets, nonprofit organizations, government organizations, universities, and others Collaboration can also be used for many different purposes, including manufacturing, services, marketing, or technology-based objectives. Collaboration arrangements can also take many forms, from vary informal alliances to highly structured joint ventures or technology exchange agreements. The most common forms of collaborative arrangements used in technological innovation include strategic alliances, joint ventures, licensing, outsourcing, and collective research organizations.

11. Strategic Alliance A strategic alliance is a partner of two or more corporations or business units to achieve strategically significant objectives that are mutually beneficial. Thus, a strategic alliance needs to be a relationship in which the strategic advantages outweigh the transaction costs involved with the alliance. Alliances can enhance a firm’s overall level of flexibility. Alliances are also used to enable partners to learn from each other and develop new competencies. Alliance partners may hope to transfer knowledge between the firms or to combine their skills and resources to jointly create new knowledge. Alliance relationships often lack the shared language, routines, and coordination that facilitate the transfer of knowledge- particularly the complex and tacit knowledge to lead to sustainable competitive advantages. To use alliances for learning requires a serious commitment of resources, such as pool of dedicated people willing to travel between the home firm and partner firm, test-bed facilities, and active procedures for internalizing what has been learned. Alliances can be differentiated along several dimensions. These include level of formality, duration, and location.

14. Alliance for Technology Acquisition

15. Choosing a Mode of Collaboration

17. Dealing with the ambiguities

18. Discovering that the partnering firms lack a shared vision

19. Getting the timing right

20. Communicating effectively and efficiently between the alliance partners

21. Protecting intellectual property

24. Would the collaboration impact the threat of entry?

25. Would the collaboration impact the firm’s position vis-à-vis its rivals?

27. How would the collaboration help the firm overcome its weaknesses?

28. Is the collaboration likely to yield a position of competitive advantage that is difficult for competitors to imitate? Is such a competitive advantage achievable without collaborating?

29. Would the collaboration leverage or enhance the firm’s core capabilities?

31. Is the collaboration likely to help the firm close any resource or technology gap between where it is now and where it would like to be?

32. Are the objectives of the collaboration likely to change over time? How are such changes likely to be compatible or incompatible with the firm’s strategic direction?