Williams, C. and Lee, Soo Hee (2009) Exploring the internal and external venturing of large R&D-intensive firms. R&D Management 39 (3), pp. 231-246. ISSN 0033-6807.
Abstract
We explore the realized strategies of large R&D-intensive firms through a venturing lens, focusing on two industries: pharmaceuticals and high-technology equipment manufacturing. Specifically, we examine changes in strategy over time along two critical dimensions: (1) focus of venturing, i.e., internally vs externally oriented, and (2) learning orientation i.e., explorative vs exploitative. Our empirical analysis is based on news stories relating to six large, R&D-intensive firms over a 6-year period. The findings suggest the following: (1) exploration is more prevalent than exploitation in both pharmaceuticals and high-technology equipment manufacturing, but pharmaceuticals have a greater preference for internal venturing than high-technology equipment manufacturing; (2) three firm-level venturing strategy types can be discerned, which are independent of the specific industry; and (3) change in realized strategy is a dynamic capability facilitated by firm-level factors. These results, albeit explorative, emphasize venturing in R&D industries as a dynamic capability that is influenced by firm-level characteristics rather than industry membership.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Business and Law > Birkbeck Business School |
| Depositing User: | Administrator |
| Date Deposited: | 12 May 2011 11:15 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 16:51 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/2056 |
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