Zhongyuan Sun

Reading lists Stream 22Search all readings

Corporate strategy and interfirm relationships

Diversification, M&A, alliances and interfirm exchange.

Of its 95 readings, 10 are assigned in two or more sources and listed first, with the number of sources beside each (in bold for the core readings, in 4 or more); the 85 listed in only one source are folded under each heading.

In the theory tree: grows out of 21 Organizational economics.

Drawn from: Lu, Li, Park, Yang & Yan (CityU); Jia (USC); Zhou (HKU); Levinthal (Wharton); Kogut & Keum (Columbia); Yao (HBS); Amit (Wharton); Glennon (Wharton); Sullivan (HKUST); Glaser (Alberta); Peng (UT Dallas). Full details of the sources are on the reading lists page.

By decade

Before 1950: 0 readings<19501950s: 1 reading1950s1960s: 0 readings1960s1970s: 2 readings1970s1980s: 3 readings1980s1990s: 13 readings1990s2000s: 31 readings2000s2010s: 44 readings442010s2020s: 1 reading2020s
Most date from the 2010s; half were published in 2009 or later.

Also assigned

In 2 to 3 sources.

  1. Gulati, R. (1995). Does familiarity breed trust? The implications of repeated ties for contractual choice in alliances. Academy of Management Journal, 38(1), 85–112. https://doi.org/10.2307/2567293
  2. Johanson, J., & Vahlne, J.-E. (1977). The Internationalization Process of the Firm—A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitments. Journal of International Business Studies, 8(1), 23–32. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.84906762
  3. Teece, D. J., Rumelt, R., Dosi, G., & Winter, S. (1994). Understanding corporate coherence. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 23(1), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-2681(94)90094-92
  4. Mowery, D. C., Oxley, J. E., & Silverman, B. S. (1996). Strategic alliances and interfirm knowledge transfer. Strategic Management Journal, 17(S2), 77–91. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.42501711082
  5. Dyer, J. H. (1997). Effective interim collaboration: how firms minimize transaction costs and maximise transaction value. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 535–556. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0266(199708)18:7<535::aid-smj885>3.0.co;2-z2
  6. Mayer, K. J., & Argyres, N. S. (2004). Learning to Contract: Evidence from the Personal Computer Industry. Organization Science, 15(4), 394–410. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1040.00742
  7. Villalonga, B., & McGahan, A. M. (2005). The choice among acquisitions, alliances, and divestitures. Strategic Management Journal, 26(13), 1183–1208. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4932
  8. Mayer, K. J., & Salomon, R. M. (2006). Capabilities, Contractual Hazards, and Governance: Integrating Resource-Based and Transaction Cost Perspectives. Academy of Management Journal, 49(5), 942–959. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2006.227981752
  9. Graebner, M. E. (2009). Caveat Venditor: Trust Asymmetries in Acquisitions of Entrepreneurial Firms. Academy of Management Journal, 52(3), 435–472. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2009.413304132
  10. Ozcan, P., & Eisenhardt, K. M. (2009). Origin of Alliance Portfolios: Entrepreneurs, Network Strategies, and Firm Performance. Academy of Management Journal, 52(2), 246–279. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2009.373080212

Further readings

85 more, listed in one source
  1. Penrose, E. (1959). The economics of diversification. In The Theory of the Growth of the Firm. M. E. Sharpe.
  2. Rumelt, R. (1974). Strategy, structure, and economic performance. Harvard Business School Press.
  3. Rumelt, R. P. (1982). Diversification strategy and profitability. Strategic Management Journal, 3(4), 359–369. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250030407
  4. Teece, D. J. (1982). Towards an economic theory of the multiproduct firm. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 3(1), 39–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-2681(82)90003-8
  5. Barney, J. B. (1988). Returns to bidding firms in mergers and acquisitions: Reconsidering the relatedness hypothesis. Strategic Management Journal, 9(S1), 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250090708
  6. Tallman, S., & Li, J. (1996). Effects of international diversity and product diversity on the performance of multinational firms. Academy of Management Journal, 39(1), 179–196. https://doi.org/10.2307/256635
  7. Barkema, H. G., Bell, J. H. J., & Pennings, J. M. (1996). Foreign Entry, Cultural Barriers, and Learning. Strategic Management Journal, 17(2), 151–166. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0266(199602)17:2<151::aid-smj799>3.0.co;2-z
  8. Xin, K. K., & Pearce, J. L. (1996). Guanxi: Connections as Substitutes for Formal Institutional Support. Academy of Management Journal, 39(6), 1641–1658. https://doi.org/10.2307/257072
  9. Rindfleisch, A., & Heide, J. B. (1997). Transaction Cost Analysis: Past, Present, and Future Applications. Journal of Marketing, 61(4), 30–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299706100403
  10. Gulati, R. (1998). Alliances and networks. Strategic Management Journal, 19(4), 293–317. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0266(199804)19:4<293::aid-smj982>3.0.co;2-m
  11. Zaheer, A., McEvily, B., & Perrone, V. (1998). Does Trust Matter? Exploring the Effects of Interorganizational and Interpersonal Trust on Performance. Organization Science, 9(2), 141–159. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.9.2.141
  12. Dyer, J. H., & Singh, H. (1998). The Relational View: Cooperative Strategy and Sources of Interorganizational Competitive Advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(4), 660. https://doi.org/10.2307/259056
  13. Khanna, T., Gulati, R., & Nohria, N. (1998). The dynamics of learning alliances: competition, cooperation, and relative scope. Strategic Management Journal, 19(3), 193–210. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0266(199803)19:3<193::aid-smj949>3.0.co;2-c
  14. Silverman, B. S. (1999). Technological Resources and the Direction of Corporate Diversification: Toward an Integration of the Resource-Based View and Transaction Cost Economics. Management Science, 45(8), 1109–1124. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.45.8.1109
  15. Palich, L. E., Cardinal, L. B., & Miller, C. C. (2000). Curvilinearity in the diversification-performance linkage: an examination of over three decades of research. Strategic Management Journal, 21(2), 155–174. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0266(200002)21:2<155::aid-smj82>3.0.co;2-2
  16. Bowman, E. H., & Helfat, C. E. (2001). Does corporate strategy matter? Strategic Management Journal, 22(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0266(200101)22:1<1::aid-smj143>3.0.co;2-t
  17. Khanna, T., & Rivkin, J. W. (2001). Estimating the performance effects of business groups in emerging markets. Strategic Management Journal, 22(1), 45–74. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0266(200101)22:1<45::aid-smj147>3.0.co;2-f
  18. Lu, J. W., & Beamish, P. W. (2001). The internationalization and performance of SMEs. Strategic Management Journal, 22(6-7), 565–586. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.184
  19. Kale, P., Dyer, J. H., & Singh, H. (2002). Alliance capability, stock market response, and long‐term alliance success: the role of the alliance function. Strategic Management Journal, 23(8), 747–767. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.248
  20. Martin, J. D., & Sayrak, A. (2003). Corporate diversification and shareholder value: a survey of recent literature. Journal of Corporate Finance, 9(1), 37–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0929-1199(01)00053-0
  21. Delios, A., & Henisz, W. J. (2003). Political hazards, experience, and sequential entry strategies: the international expansion of Japanese firms, 1980–1998. Strategic Management Journal, 24(11), 1153–1164. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.355
  22. Porrini, P. (2004). Can a Previous Alliance Between an Acquirer and a Target Affect Acquisition Performance? Journal of Management, 30(4), 545–562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jm.2004.02.003
  23. Villalonga, B. (2004). Diversification Discount or Premium? New Evidence from the Business Information Tracking Series. The Journal of Finance, 59(2), 479–506. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2004.00640.x
  24. Lu, J. W., & Beamish, P. W. (2004). International Diversification and Firm Performance: The S-Curve Hypothesis. Academy of Management Journal, 47(4), 598–609. https://doi.org/10.2307/20159604
  25. Wang, L., & Zajac, E. J. (2007). Alliance or acquisition? a dyadic perspective on interfirm resource combinations. Strategic Management Journal, 28(13), 1291–1317. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.638
  26. Lavie, D. (2007). Alliance portfolios and firm performance: A study of value creation and appropriation in the U.S. software industry. Strategic Management Journal, 28(12), 1187–1212. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.637
  27. Kale, P., & Singh, H. (2007). Building firm capabilities through learning: the role of the alliance learning process in alliance capability and firm‐level alliance success. Strategic Management Journal, 28(10), 981–1000. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.616
  28. Chakrabarti, A., Singh, K., & Mahmood, I. (2007). Diversification and performance: evidence from East Asian firms. Strategic Management Journal, 28(2), 101–120. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.572
  29. Sampson, R. C. (2007). R&D Alliances and Firm Performance: The Impact of Technological Diversity and Alliance Organization on Innovation. Academy of Management Journal, 50(2), 364–386. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.24634443
  30. Lin, Z., Yang, H., & Demirkan, I. (2007). The Performance Consequences of Ambidexterity in Strategic Alliance Formations: Empirical Investigation and Computational Theorizing. Management Science, 53(10), 1645–1658. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1070.0712
  31. Poppo, L., Zhou, K. Z., & Ryu, S. (2008). Alternative Origins to Interorganizational Trust: An Interdependence Perspective on the Shadow of the Past and the Shadow of the Future. Organization Science, 19(1), 39–55. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1070.0281
  32. Li, D., Eden, L., Hitt, M. A., & Ireland, R. D. (2008). Friends, Acquaintances, or Strangers? Partner Selection in R&D Alliances. Academy of Management Journal, 51(2), 315–334. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2008.31767271
  33. Yin, X., & Shanley, M. (2008). Industry Determinants of the “Merger Versus Alliance” Decision. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 473–491. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2008.31193515
  34. Rothaermel, F. T., & Boeker, W. (2008). Old technology meets new technology: complementarities, similarities, and alliance formation. Strategic Management Journal, 29(1), 47–77. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.634
  35. Mcnamara, G. M., Haleblian, J., & Dykes, B. J. (2008). The Performance Implications of Participating in an Acquisition Wave: Early Mover Advantages, Bandwagon Effects, and The Moderating Influence of Industry Characteristics and Acquirer Tactics. Academy of Management Journal, 51(1), 113–130. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2008.30755057
  36. Li, J., Zhou, C., & Zajac, E. J. (2009). Control, collaboration, and productivity in international joint ventures: theory and evidence. Strategic Management Journal, 30(8), 865–884. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.771
  37. Dastidar, P. (2009). International corporate diversification and performance: Does firm self-selection matter? Journal of International Business Studies, 40(1), 71–85. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.2008.57
  38. Ahuja, G., Polidoro, F., Jr., & Mitchell, W. (2009). Structural homophily or social asymmetry? The formation of alliances by poorly embedded firms. Strategic Management Journal, 30(9), 941–958. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.774
  39. Haleblian, J., Devers, C. E., McNamara, G., Carpenter, M. A., & Davison, R. B. (2009). Taking Stock of What We Know About Mergers and Acquisitions: A Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Management, 35(3), 469–502. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206308330554
  40. Schilling, M. A. (2009). Understanding the alliance data. Strategic Management Journal, 30(3), 233–260. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.731
  41. Wassmer, U. (2010). Alliance Portfolios: A Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Management, 36(1), 141–171. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206308328484
  42. Jiang, R. J., Tao, Q. T., & Santoro, M. D. (2010). Alliance portfolio diversity and firm performance. Strategic Management Journal, 31(10), 1136–1144. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.869
  43. Mooi, E. A., & Ghosh, M. (2010). Contract Specificity and Its Performance Implications. Journal of Marketing, 74(2), 105–120. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.74.2.105
  44. Rawley, E. (2010). Diversification, coordination costs, and organizational rigidity: evidence from microdata. Strategic Management Journal, 31(8), 873–891. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.838
  45. Levinthal, D. A., & Wu, B. (2010). Opportunity costs and non‐scale free capabilities: profit maximization, corporate scope, and profit margins. Strategic Management Journal, 31(7), 780–801. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.845
  46. Zaheer, A., Hernandez, E., & Banerjee, S. (2010). Prior Alliances with Targets and Acquisition Performance in Knowledge-Intensive Industries. Organization Science, 21(5), 1072–1091. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1100.0528
  47. Banneste, B. S., & Puranam, P. (2010). Repeated interactions and contractual detail: Identifying the learning effect. Organization Science.
  48. Qian, G., Khoury, T. A., Peng, M. W., & Qian, Z. (2010). The performance implications of intra‐ and inter‐regional geographic diversification. Strategic Management Journal, 31(9), 1018–1030. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.855
  49. Diestre, L., & Rajagopalan, N. (2011). An Environmental Perspective on Diversification: The Effects of Chemical Relatedness and Regulatory Sanctions. Academy of Management Journal, 54(1), 97–115. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.59215087
  50. Yang, H., Lin, Z., & Peng, M. W. (2011). Behind Acquisitions of Alliance Partners: Exploratory Learning and Network Embeddedness. Academy of Management Journal, 54(5), 1069–1080. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.0767
  51. Lumineau, F., & Malhotra, D. (2011). Shadow of the contract: how contract structure shapes interfirm dispute resolution. Strategic Management Journal, 32(5), 532–555. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.890
  52. Sheng, S., Zhou, K. Z., & Li, J. J. (2011). The Effects of Business and Political Ties on Firm Performance: Evidence from China. Journal of Marketing, 75(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.75.1.1
  53. Wassmer, U., & Dussauge, P. (2011). Value Creation in Alliance Portfolios: The Benefits and Costs of Network Resource Interdependencies. European Management Review, 8(1), 47–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-4762.2011.01003.x
  54. Phene, A., & Tallman, S. (2012). Complexity, context and governance in biotechnology alliances. Journal of International Business Studies, 43(1), 61–83. https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2011.53
  55. Li, D., Eden, L., Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Garrett, R. P. (2012). Governance in Multilateral R&D Alliances. Organization Science, 23(4), 1191–1210. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1110.0671
  56. Wassmer, U., & Dussauge, P. (2012). Network resource stocks and flows: how do alliance portfolios affect the value of new alliance formations? Strategic Management Journal, 33(7), 871–883. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.973
  57. Yu, T., Subramaniam, M., & Cannella Jr, A. A. (2013). Competing globally, allying locally: Alliances between global rivals and host-country factors. Journal of International Business Studies, 44(2), 117–137. https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2012.37
  58. Zahavi, T., & Lavie, D. (2013). Intra‐industry diversification and firm performance. Strategic Management Journal, 34(8), 978–998. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2057
  59. Grewal, R., Kumar, A., Mallapragada, G., & Saini, A. (2013). Marketing Channels in Foreign Markets: Control Mechanisms and the Moderating Role of Multinational Corporation Headquarters–Subsidiary Relationship. Journal of Marketing Research, 50(3), 378–398. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.11.0487
  60. Jia, N. (2014). Are collective political actions and private political actions substitutes or complements? Empirical evidence from China's private sector. Strategic Management Journal, 35(2), 292–315. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2092
  61. Feldman, E. R., Gilson, S. C., & Villalonga, B. (2014). Do analysts add value when they most can? Evidence from corporate spin‐offs. Strategic Management Journal, 35(10), 1446–1463. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2169
  62. Yang, H., Zheng, Y., & Zhao, X. (2014). Exploration or exploitation? Small firms' alliance strategies with large firms. Strategic Management Journal, 35(1), 146–157. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2082
  63. Feldman, E. R. (2014). Legacy Divestitures: Motives and Implications. Organization Science, 25(3), 815–832. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2013.0873
  64. Reuer, J. J., & Lahiri, N. (2014). Searching for Alliance Partners: Effects of Geographic Distance on the Formation of R&D Collaborations. Organization Science, 25(1), 283–298. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1120.0805
  65. Stern, I., Dukerich, J. M., & Zajac, E. (2014). Unmixed signals: How reputation and status affect alliance formation. Strategic Management Journal, 35(4), 512–531. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2116
  66. Gu, Q., & Lu, X. (2014). Unraveling the mechanisms of reputation and alliance formation: A study of venture capital syndication in China. Strategic Management Journal, 35(5), 739–750. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2117
  67. Wang, Y., & Rajagopalan, N. (2015). Alliance Capabilities: Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Management, 41(1), 236–260. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314557157
  68. Lioukas, C. S., & Reuer, J. J. (2015). Isolating Trust Outcomes from Exchange Relationships: Social Exchange and Learning Benefits of Prior Ties in Alliances. Academy of Management Journal, 58(6), 1826–1847. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0934
  69. Su, W., & Tsang, E. W. K. (2015). Product Diversification and Financial Performance: The Moderating Role of Secondary Stakeholders. Academy of Management Journal, 58(4), 1128–1148. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2013.0454
  70. Kim, H., Hoskisson, R. E., & Lee, S. (2015). Why strategic factor markets matter: “New” multinationals' geographic diversification and firm profitability. Strategic Management Journal, 36(4), 518–536. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2229
  71. Reuer, J. J., Ariño, A., Poppo, L., & Zenger, T. (2016). Alliance governance. Strategic Management Journal, 37(13). https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2535
  72. Natividad, G., & Rawley, E. (2016). Interdependence and Performance: A Natural Experiment in Firm Scope. Strategy Science, 1(1), 12–31. https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2015.0004
  73. Reuer, J. J., & Devarakonda, S. V. (2016). Mechanisms of Hybrid Governance: Administrative Committees in Non-Equity Alliances. Academy of Management Journal, 59(2), 510–533. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2012.0098
  74. Dean, T., Griffith, D. A., & Calantone, R. J. (2016). New Product Creativity: Understanding Contract Specificity in New Product Introductions. Journal of Marketing, 80(2), 39–58. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.14.0333
  75. Krishnan, R., Geyskens, I., & Steenkamp, J. E. M. (2016). The effectiveness of contractual and trust‐based governance in strategic alliances under behavioral and environmental uncertainty. Strategic Management Journal, 37(12), 2521–2542. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2469
  76. Ghosh, A., Ranganathan, R., & Rosenkopf, L. (2016). The impact of context and model choice on the determinants of strategic alliance formation: Evidence from a staged replication study. Strategic Management Journal, 37(11), 2204–2221. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2570
  77. Asgari, N., Singh, K., & Mitchell, W. (2017). Alliance portfolio reconfiguration following a technological discontinuity. Strategic Management Journal, 38(5), 1062–1081. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2554
  78. Ahuja, G., & Novelli, E. (2017). Redirecting Research Efforts on the Diversification–Performance Linkage: The Search for Synergy. Academy of Management Annals, 11(1), 342–390. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2014.0079
  79. Xia, J., Wang, Y., Lin, Y., Yang, H., & Li, S. (2018). Alliance Formation in the Midst of Market and Network: Insights From Resource Dependence and Network Perspectives. Journal of Management, 44(5), 1899–1925. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316630379
  80. Cui, V., Yang, H., & Vertinsky, I. (2018). Attacking your partners: Strategic alliances and competition between partners in product markets. Strategic Management Journal, 39(12), 3116–3139. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2746
  81. Wagner, S., & Goossen, M. C. (2018). Knowing Me, Knowing You: Inventor Mobility and the Formation of Technology-oriented Alliances. Academy of Management Journal, 61(6), 2026–2052. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.0818
  82. Martin, K. D., Josephson, B. W., Vadakkepatt, G. G., & Johnson, J. L. (2018). Political Management, Research and Development, and Advertising Capital in the Pharmaceutical Industry: A Good Prognosis? Journal of Marketing, 82(3), 87–107. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.15.0297
  83. Gu, Q., Lu, J. W., & Chung, C.-N. (2019). Incentive or Disincentive? A Socioemotional Wealth Explanation of New Industry Entry in Family Business Groups. Journal of Management, 45(2), 645–672. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316678450
  84. Josephson, B. W., Lee, J.-Y., Mariadoss, B. J., & Johnson, J. L. (2019). Uncle Sam Rising: Performance Implications of Business-to-Government Relationships. Journal of Marketing, 83(1), 51–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242918814254
  85. Jiang, H., Jia, N., Bai, T., & Bruton, G. D. (2021). Cleaning house before hosting new guests: A political path dependence model of political connection adaptation in the aftermath of anticorruption shocks. Strategic Management Journal, 42(10), 1793–1821. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3315