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The evolution of interorganizational relationships in emerging ventures: An ethnographic study within the new product development process

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  • Marion, Tucker J.
  • Eddleston, Kimberly A.
  • Friar, John H.
  • Deeds, David

Abstract

Emerging ventures rarely have the resources they need, which often force them to reach beyond their boundaries to access these resources. While the field has acknowledged how critical external relationships are in the emergence process, we lack an understanding of how these relationships evolve. Drawing on fourteen longitudinal case studies, this article begins to fill that gap by examining how emerging ventures use interorganizational relationships to discover, develop, and commercialize new products. We found that emerging ventures tended to establish outsourcing relationships early and that many outsourcing relationships progressed into alliances. This suggests that these early relationships are dynamic, evolve through the emergence process, and may be critical to the successful emergence of a venture. We also discovered that many entrepreneurs developed strong socioemotional bonds with their alliance partners. Unexpectedly, our study revealed that in many cases these socioemotional bonds clouded the entrepreneur's judgment of the partner's abilities and led to problems that threatened the venture's survival.

Suggested Citation

  • Marion, Tucker J. & Eddleston, Kimberly A. & Friar, John H. & Deeds, David, 2015. "The evolution of interorganizational relationships in emerging ventures: An ethnographic study within the new product development process," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 167-184.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:30:y:2015:i:1:p:167-184
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2014.07.003
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    6. Benedikt Müller-Stewens & Klaus Möller, 2017. "Performance in new product development: a comprehensive framework, current trends, and research directions," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 157-201, May.
    7. Candi, Marina & Kitagawa, Fumi, 2022. "Performance implications of business model centrality over technology-based firms’ life courses," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    8. Packard, Mark D., 2017. "Where did interpretivism go in the theory of entrepreneurship?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 536-549.
    9. Zhang, Jiamin & Gu, Qian, 2021. "Turning a curse into a blessing: Contingent effects of geographic distance on startup–VC partnership performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(4).
    10. Zahoor, Nadia & Al-Tabbaa, Omar, 2020. "Inter-organizational collaboration and SMEs’ innovation: A systematic review and future research directions," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(2).
    11. Junfan Yu & Saskia Klerk & Michael Hess, 2023. "The influence of cronyism on entrepreneurial resource acquisition," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 121-150, March.
    12. Frederik von Briel & Per Davidsson & Jan Recker, 2018. "Digital Technologies as External Enablers of New Venture Creation in the IT Hardware Sector," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(1), pages 47-69, January.
    13. Goldenstein, Jan & Hunoldt, Michael & Oertel, Simon, 2019. "How optimal distinctiveness affects new ventures' failure risk: A contingency perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 477-495.
    14. Denis Frydrych & Adam J. Bock, 2018. "Bring the Noize: Syndicate and Role-Identity Co-Creation During Crowdfunding," SAGE Open, , vol. 8(4), pages 21582440188, October.
    15. Rene M. Bakker, 2016. "Stepping in and stepping out: Strategic alliance partner reconfiguration and the unplanned termination of complex projects," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(9), pages 1919-1941, September.
    16. Parida, Vinit & George, Nerine Mary & Lahti, Tom & Wincent, Joakim, 2016. "Influence of subjective interpretation, causation, and effectuation on initial venture sale," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 4815-4819.
    17. Singh, Smita & Corner, Patricia Doyle & Pavlovich, Kathryn, 2015. "Failed, not finished: A narrative approach to understanding venture failure stigmatization," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 150-166.
    18. Suddaby, Roy & Bruton, Garry D. & Si, Steven X., 2015. "Entrepreneurship through a qualitative lens: Insights on the construction and/or discovery of entrepreneurial opportunity," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 1-10.

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