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New venture technology sourcing: Exploring the effect of absorptive capacity, learning attitude and past performance
Dominique R Jolly
CERAM Sophia-Antipolis , Sophia-Antipolis, France
François Thérin
Grenoble Ecole de Management, Grenoble, France
Abstract
Based on the literature on learning and technological alliances, this paper explores the relationship between the learning attitude, performance and absorptive capacity with the companies' ways of sourcing for technologies.
Using a sample of 110 high-tech ventures, the statistical results show a clear link between the span of technology access modes and the learning attitude and absorptive capacity. This behaviour in our sample leads also to a better performance, especially in term of foreign expansion, product innovation and speed of new products commercialization.
Suggestions for managers on how to improve their technology access processes are given at the end of the text.
Keywords
technology sourcing, absorptive capacity, attitude towards learning, high-tech businesses.
Article Text
Technology sourcing is now crucial for the sustain of firms competitive advantage, in term of innovation or new product development (Kessler et al 2000). This is obviously true for high-tech businesses (microelectronic, pharmacy, aerospace, etc). It is as well relevant for low-tech businesses that have been transformed by disruptive technologies such as, for example, distribution because of the Internet (Fulk & DeSanctis 1995). Specifically, high-tech companies, as producers of technologies, have to source outside as inside.
Over the years, modes of technology sourcing have dramatically diversified, namely because of the growth of mergers and acquisitions as well as inter-firms alliances. Companies face, for example, difficulties in transferring one technology from one organization to another.
Integrating a high-tech start-up after a take-over in a large company is also a well known difficulty that companies have to face. In the case of technological alliances, most of the companies report to be disappointed with the performance of technology consortia (Grindley & Mowery 1994). Technology sourcing was analyzed in relationship with issues such as new product development (Kessler et al 2000), dependence / independence (Stensma & Corley 2000), previous direct or indirect ties (Vanhaverbeke et al 2002) or intellectual property protection (Jones et al 2001).
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