Given the complexity of sourcing choices in R&D, driven by conflicting points of difference, scholars have struggled to formulate clear theoretical predictions about which sourcing choices lead to superior performance. Our study contributes to the elucidation of this question by studying both the antecedents and performance consequences (project cost and duration) of alternative sourcing choices in the context of new product development, thus bridging two rarely intersecting streams of research to discover unique insights. We draw from the transaction cost economics (TCE) and organizational learning theory to account for the interdependence of cost- and non-cost related factors in firms’ sourcing choices. Results from our empirical analysis, using data on clinical trials in the global biopharmaceutical industry, show that greater project complexity, project stage uncertainty, and prior sourcing experience determine the sourcing choices a firm makes. We also establish that alternative sourcing choices vary in their ability to minimize project cost versus project duration, and show that prior experience with a sourcing choice is an important moderator of project performance, in addition to being one of the determinants of sourcing choice.

鉴于研发中采购选择的复杂性，在差异的冲突点的驱动下，学者们一直在努力就哪些采购选择可带来卓越的业绩制定清晰的理论预测。我们的研究通过在新产品开发的背景下研究替代性采购选择的前因和绩效后果（项目成本和期限），从而为阐明这一问题做出了贡献，从而将两个很少相交的研究联系起来，以发现独特的见解。我们使用交易成本经济学（TCE）和组织学习理论来解释企业采购选择中成本和非成本相关因素的相互依赖性。我们的经验分析结果，使用了全球生物制药行业的临床试验数据，表明更大的项目复杂性，项目阶段的不确定性以及先前的采购经验决定了公司做出的采购选择。我们还确定了替代采购选择在最小化项目成本与项目工期方面的能力各不相同，并且表明，除了作为采购选择的决定因素之一之外，以往的采购选择经验也是项目绩效的重要调节剂。