UNDERSTANDING THE RATIONALE OF STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY PARTNERING - INTERORGANIZATIONAL MODES OF COOPERATION AND SECTORAL DIFFERENCES

Interfirm strategic alliances appear to have become more important as a part of (international) business. In this contribution an attempt is made to clarify our understanding of the motives that lead firms to c ooperate in their innovative efforts. Going beyond general theoretical statements and case studies, attention is paid to both sectoral diffe rences in the motivation for partnerships as well as to contrasts in i nterorganizational features of technology cooperation. Based on a larg e sample of alliances the analysis reveals some major differences rega rding the research orientation of contractual arrangements and organiz ationally complex alliances.