Partner trustworthiness, knowledge flow in strategic alliances, and firm competitiveness: A contingency perspective

Firms in strategic alliances acquire knowledge from partners but also face the risk of knowledge leakage to partners. To address such dilemma of knowledge exchange, this study proposes partner trustworthiness as a common determinant of knowledge acquisition and knowledge leakage, and examines the effects of knowledge exchange on firm competitiveness. Moreover, we posit that these effects are contingent on alliance regimes (competitive vs. non-competitive alliances). A survey among 205 partner firms shows that in both alliance regimes, partner trustworthiness facilitates knowledge acquisition, whereas it exerts a negative effect on knowledge leakage in non-competitive alliance, but follows a U-shaped pattern' in competitive alliances. Firm competitiveness increases with knowledge acquisition in competitive alliances, but increases at a decreasing rate in non-competitive alliances. Knowledge leakage undermines firm competitiveness in both alliance regimes. Our study is based on solid theoretical foundations and provides important theoretical and practical implications for knowledge management in strategic alliances.