Trading knowledge for status: Conceptualizing R&D alliance formation to achieve ambidexterity

Firms may engage in alliances to complement their learning activities through explorative or exploitative partnerships. However, the partners' status may influence the scope of alliances, in terms of explorative and exploitative learning. In fact, status, being transferable, could be exchanged to obtain peculiar resources, knowledge, and competencies by partners, thus favoring the focal firms' innovation process. Accordingly, this theoretical...