The impact of founders on value appropriation in new ventures’ alliance agreements

This paper investigates the value obtained by new ventures in alliance agreements and examines the effects of new ventures’ founders. We apply the bargaining framework for surplus division and develop hypotheses about the effects of founders on new ventures’ value appropriation within alliance agreements. Specifically, our theory suggests that the signals emanating from the superior credentials of founders and the connections that evolve from a new venture’s founders augment new ventures’ outside options and thereby enhance their ability to capture a greater portion of the value derived from alliance activities. Empirical analyses of alliance agreements in the biopharmaceutical industry furnish evidence for our theory.