The Hazards of Leapfrog: Search Routines for Alliance Partner and Evolution of Organizational Capabilities

Abstract

This study presents an evolutionary model of capability development and examines the role of strategic alliance in the evolution of organiza-tional capabilities. In particular, this study begins with the observation that each alliance partners capability development co-evolves. This study contributes to the literature on capability development by showing the following: (1) a firms strategic alliance is fitness-enhancing when its partners learning is ineffective; (2) without making additional efforts (i.e., in-house development), a firm is able to employ strategic alliances and to balance between exploitation and exploration to the extent that its

(potential) partners are not effective learners; and (3) a rm is unlikely to balance between exploitation and exploration to the extent that its (potential) partners are effective learners.