Dont Put Your Eggs in One Basket: The Effects of Alliance Portfolio Diversity and Core Alliance Type Concentration on Alliance Performance in the PC Game Industry

Abstract

This study examines alliance portfolio diversity, an oft-studied stream of research with inconclusive findings, in the creative industry, an industry that operates under a different set of economic and business assumptions. By utilizing all available game data from 1998 to May 2019 from Steam, the largest digital distribution platform for PC gaming, the study finds that the effects of alliance portfolio diversity on alliance performance is positive in the pc game industry, an industry in the creative industry. The study also determines that a higher concentration of alliances in the firms core alliance type positively moderates the positive effects of alliance portfolio diversity on alliance performance through establishing organizational routines which enable firms in the creative industry to fully realize the benefits of having a diverse alliance portfolio.