Enacting the alliance: Towards a role-based theory of alliance implementation

N.G. Noorderhaven, T.J.G. Peeters, J. van den Elst

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterScientificpeer-review

Abstract

Alliance research has tended to neglect the roles of individual managers and employees. However, firms are no unitary actors but complex social systems comprising individuals whose mindsets and interests influence an alliance. Building on organizational role theory we distinguish between three types of role enactment: in-role behavior, extra-role behavior, and perfunctory role behavior, and put forward that these role enactments can have important consequences for interfirm alliances. We use a detailed case study of an alliance between two high-tech firms to explore role enactment of boundary-spanning managers and employees. Our study suggests that individual role enactment can indeed influence alliance implementation in important ways, and we formulate some first theoretical conjectures regarding the antecedents and consequences of in-role, extra-role, and perfunctory role behaviors in interfirm alliances.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationBehavioral Perspectives on Strategic Alliances
EditorsT.K. Das
Place of PublicationCharlotte, NC
PublisherInformation Age Publishing
Pages1-26
Number of pages392
ISBN (Print)9781617355394
Publication statusPublished - 2011

Publication series

NameResearch in Strategic Alliances

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