Strategic Fit and the Role of Contractual and Procedural Governance in Alliances: A Dynamic Perspective

This paper focuses specifically on interfirm strategic collaboration as a vehicle for knowledge management across firm boundaries. Drawing on the widely accepted exploitation/exploration dichotomy, this article contributes to research concerning alliance dynamics by combining elements related to alliance formation, negotiation and outcomes. By integrating the exploitation/exploration arguments into a set of knowledge-related strategic motives for alliance formation, the main arguments focus on the influence of governance mechanisms on the relationship between strategic fit and outcome in terms of knowledge. This paper integrates the emergent knowledge-based theories of alliance formation (and outcome) with existing theories related to governance and coordination in an attempt to explain how the knowledge outcome of collaborative relationships may be determined by the strategic fit of partner motives, influenced by the mix of contractual and procedural governance. A series of testable propositions are derived in order to answer the following question: Do combinations of contractual and procedural coordination, given specific strategic fit, explain performance differentials?