Examining the nature of strategic alliances in China, international strategic alliances are a dominant strategic choice in a number of industries including telecommunications, automobiles and pharmaceuticals. Emerging as a strong strategy since the 1990s, strategic alliances stimulate globalisation and allow for achievement of a global scale to stimulate research and development and thus innovation/capabilities. As seen in the work of Zhang, Duysters and Fillippov (2012) Chinese firms have recently been undertaking international strategic alliances in Europe and have been doing so in order to enhance technological and internationalisation competence. The evidence supports a rising number of international strategic alliances in the Chinese market and this is supported by substantial links between this strategic choice and performance as confirmed in the work of Yan and Gray (1994) and Li et al (2016).
Li et al (2016) provide an interesting and recent study examining China-UK strategic alliances in higher education. Li et al (2016) argue that despite a notoriously high failure rate of international strategic alliances, one industry that has achieve success is the higher education sector and strategic alliances between Chinese and UK partners. Despite cultural differences, a focus of mutual interest is highlighted by Li et al (2016) to be important in stimulating connections which achieve commonality and collegiality across a given vision. Li et al (2016) argue that in order to overcome challenges and weaken the possibility for failure, international strategic alliances explored have to be structurally supportive (in terms of both resources and employees) of the alliance and thus be receptive to deeply rooted changes within the organisation.
2.9 Scale Development
In order to examine, and importantly measure, knowledge within the firm, six different types of knowledge transfers have been identified within the literature. The Learning Capability Scale by Gomez, Valle-Cabrera & Lorente (2005) captures learning in a previously validated manner and this scale is underpinned by attention to commitment to knowledge transfers within the firm, systems perspective of learning, knowledge transfers and innovation and learning outcomes from the strategic alliance. Further, scale items have been influenced by the intra-organisational knowledge sharing scale which was first developed by Calantone, Cavusgil and Zhao (2002) to capture knowledge sharing between organisations. Part of a wider scale, the scale items in this scale in particular can be used to determine the relationship between firms within an alliance which is an important contribution to the field.
2.10 Summary and Research Gaps
The literature review presented in the subsequent chapter drew on the importance of knowledge transfers and yet recognised how little attention had been directed specifically towards the nature of knowledge transfers in strategic alliances. As a result, the empirical study was carried out in order to identify what those exchanges look like but to also understand how knowledge transfers can be facilitated due to the strong empirical link between knowledge transfers, innovation and competitive advantage. A starting point and foundation for this research was to therefore gain clarification on the concepts and to move towards a point of concrete measurement.
3.0 Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the methodological approach undertaken and in doing so discussers the justification aligned to decisions presented. This chapter presents the philosophical orientations of the research, its design, research instruments used, data analysis and finally concludes with a focus on research ethics and limitations.
3.2 Research Philosophy
The methodological approach presented in this chapter whilst largely positivist in nature does draw on the value
