IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ems/eureri/1126.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Empirical Tests Of Optimal Cognitive Distance

Author

Listed:
  • Wuyts, S.H.K.
  • Colombo, M.G.
  • Dutta, S.
  • Nooteboom, B.

Abstract

This article provides empirical tests of the hypothesis of ‘optimal cognitive distance’, proposed by Nooteboom (1999, 2000), in two distinct empirical settings. Variety of cognition, needed for learning, has two dimensions: the number of agents with different cognition, and differences in cognition between them (cognitive distance). The hypothesis is that in interfirm relationships optimal learning entails a trade-off between the advantage of increased cognitive distance for a higher novelty value of a partner’s knowledge, and the disadvantage of less mutual understanding. If the value of learning is the mathematical product of novelty value and understandability, it has an inverse-U shaped relation with cognitive distance, with an optimum level that yields maximal value of learning. With auxiliary hypotheses, the hypothesis is tested on interfirm agreements between pharmaceutical companies and biotech companies, as well as on interfirm agreements in ICT industries.

Suggested Citation

  • Wuyts, S.H.K. & Colombo, M.G. & Dutta, S. & Nooteboom, B., 2004. "Empirical Tests Of Optimal Cognitive Distance," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2004-007-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    • Handle: RePEc:ems:eureri:1126
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://repub.eur.nl/pub/1126/ERS%202004%20007%20ORG.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Keith W. Glaister & Peter J. Buckley, 1996. "Strategic Motives For International Alliance Formation," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 301-332, May.
    2. Joel A. C. Baum & Tony Calabrese & Brian S. Silverman, 2000. "Don't go it alone: alliance network composition and startups' performance in Canadian biotechnology," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 267-294, March.
    3. Jeff S. Armstrong & Michael R. Darby & Lynne G. Zucker, 2003. "Commercializing knowledge: university science, knowledge capture and firm performance in biotechnology," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, issue Sep, pages 149-170.
    4. Timothy F. Bresnahan & Shane Greenstein, 1999. "Technological Competition and the Structure of the Computer Industry," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 1-40, March.
    5. Colombo, Massimo G. & Garrone, Paola, 1998. "Common carriers' entry into multimedia services," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 77-105, March.
    6. John Cantwell & Massimo Colombo, 2000. "Technological and Output Complementarities, and Inter-Firm Cooperation in Information Technology Ventures," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 4(1), pages 117-147, March.
    7. Cainarca, Gian Carlo & Colombo, Massimo G. & Mariotti, Sergio, 1992. "Agreements between firms and the technological life cycle model: Evidence from information technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 45-62, February.
    8. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2002. "What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(2), pages 402-435, June.
    9. Nooteboom, Bart, 1992. "Towards a Dynamic Theory of Transactions," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 2(4), pages 281-299, December.
    10. Patel, Pari & Pavitt, Keith, 1997. "The technological competencies of the world's largest firms: Complex and path-dependent, but not much variety," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 141-156, May.
    11. Langlois, Richard N. & Robertson, Paul L., 1992. "Networks and innovation in a modular system: Lessons from the microcomputer and stereo component industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 297-313, August.
    12. Pindyck, Robert S, 1988. "Irreversible Investment, Capacity Choice, and the Value of the Firm," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(5), pages 969-985, December.
    13. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, 1985. "Control: Organizational and Economic Approaches," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(2), pages 134-149, February.
    14. Jaffe, Adam B., 1989. "Characterizing the "technological position" of firms, with application to quantifying technological opportunity and research spillovers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 87-97, April.
    15. J Michael Geringer & Louis Hebert, 1989. "Control and Performance of International Joint Ventures," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 20(2), pages 235-254, June.
    16. Pindyck, Robert S, 1993. "A Note on Competitive Investment under Uncertainty," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(1), pages 273-277, March.
    17. Avinash K. Dixit & Robert S. Pindyck, 1994. "Investment under Uncertainty," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 5474.
    18. Robert E. Hoskisson & Michael A. Hitt, 1988. "Strategic control systems and relative r&d investment in large multiproduct firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(6), pages 605-621, November.
    19. Mark Casson & John Creedy, 1993. "Industrial Concentration And Economic Inequality," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 82.
    20. Hagedoorn, John & Schakenraad, Jos, 1992. "Leading companies and networks of strategic alliances in information technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 163-190, April.
    21. John Hagedoorn, 1993. "Understanding the rationale of strategic technology partnering: Interorganizational modes of cooperation and sectoral differences," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(5), pages 371-385, July.
    22. Massimo Colombo, 1995. "Firm Size and Cooperation: The Determinants of Cooperative Agreements in Information Technology Industries," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 3-30.
    23. John Hagedoorn & Jos Schakenraad, 1994. "The effect of strategic technology alliances on company performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(4), pages 291-309, May.
    24. Colombo, Massimo G. & Delmastro, Marco, 1999. "Some stylized facts on organization and its evolution," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 255-274, November.
    25. Shantanu Dutta & Allen M. Weiss, 1997. "The Relationship Between a Firm's Level of Technological Innovativeness and Its Pattern of Partnership Agreements," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(3), pages 343-356, March.
    26. Abernathy, William J. & Clark, Kim B., 1985. "Innovation: Mapping the winds of creative destruction," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 3-22, February.
    27. Arora, Ashish & Gambardella, Alfonso, 1990. "Complementarity and External Linkages: The Strategies of the Large Firms in Biotechnology," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 361-379, June.
    28. John Cantwell & Pllar Barrera, 1998. "The Localisation Of Corporate Technological Trajectories In The Interwar Cartels: Cooperative Learning Versus An Exchange Of Knowledge," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(2-3), pages 257-290.
    29. Michael L. Katz & Janusz A. Ordover, 1990. "R&D Cooperation and Competition," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 21(1990 Micr), pages 137-203.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Colombo, Massimo G. & Grilli, Luca & Piva, Evila, 2006. "In search of complementary assets: The determinants of alliance formation of high-tech start-ups," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 1166-1199, October.
    2. John Cantwell & Massimo Colombo, 2000. "Technological and Output Complementarities, and Inter-Firm Cooperation in Information Technology Ventures," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 4(1), pages 117-147, March.
    3. Khoury, Theodore A. & Pleggenkuhle-Miles, Erin G., 2011. "Shared inventions and the evolution of capabilities: Examining the biotechnology industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 943-956, September.
    4. Colombo, Massimo G. & Garrone, Paola, 1996. "Technological cooperative agreements and firm's R & D intensity. A note on causality relations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 923-932, September.
    5. Rajneesh Narula & Andrea Martínez-Noya, 2014. "International R&D Alliances by Firms: Origins and Development," John H Dunning Centre for International Business Discussion Papers jhd-dp2014-06, Henley Business School, University of Reading.
    6. Fabio Sorrentino & Francesco Garraffo, 2012. "Explaining performing R&D through alliances: Implications for the business model of Italian dedicated biotech firms," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(3), pages 449-475, August.
    7. Yannis Caloghirou & Stavros Ioannides & Nicholas S. Vonortas, 2003. "Research Joint Ventures," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(4), pages 541-570, September.
    8. Cassiman, Bruno & Guardo, Chiara di & Valentini, Giovanni, 2005. "Organizing for innovation: R&D projects, activities and partners," IESE Research Papers D/597, IESE Business School.
    9. Soh, Pek-Hooi, 2003. "The role of networking alliances in information acquisition and its implications for new product performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 727-744, November.
    10. Santangelo, Grazia D., 2000. "Corporate strategic technological partnerships in the European information and communications technology industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(9), pages 1015-1031, December.
    11. Colombo, Massimo G. & Delmastro, Marco & Grilli, Luca, 2004. "Entrepreneurs' human capital and the start-up size of new technology-based firms," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 22(8-9), pages 1183-1211, November.
    12. Nooteboom, B., 2006. "Learning and Innovation in Inter-Organizational Relationships and Networks," Other publications TiSEM 8d768d99-325c-4313-a9fa-6, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    13. GARRETTE, Bernard & DUSSAUGE, Pierre & CASTANER, Xavier & MULOTTE, Louis, 2007. "Do scale alliances with competitors improve product performace? A study of the Aircraft industry, 1949-2000," HEC Research Papers Series 863, HEC Paris.
    14. Qin Yang, 2018. "Geographical Diversity of Alliance Portfolio and Firm Innovation: The Roles of Resource Characteristics and Governance Structures," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(06), pages 1-22, December.
    15. John Cantwell & Rajneesh Narula, 2001. "The Eclectic Paradigm in the Global Economy," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 155-172.
    16. M. C. Guardo & K. R. Harrigan, 2016. "Shaping the path to inventive activity: the role of past experience in R&D alliances," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 250-269, April.
    17. Mowery, David C. & Oxley, Joanne E. & Silverman, Brian S., 1998. "Technological overlap and interfirm cooperation: implications for the resource-based view of the firm," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 507-523, September.
    18. Moritz Müller & Robin COWAN & Geert Duysters & Nicolas JONARD, 2009. "Knowledge Structures," Working Papers of BETA 2009-24, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    19. James Hayton & Saloua Sehili & Vida Scarpello, 2010. "Why do firms join consortial research centers? An empirical examination of firm, industry and environmental antecedents," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 35(5), pages 494-510, October.
    20. Cantner, Uwe & Graf, Holger, 2006. "The network of innovators in Jena: An application of social network analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 463-480, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ICT; alliances; biotechnology; innovation; organizational learning;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
    • M - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics
    • M10 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ems:eureri:1126. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: RePub (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/erimanl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.