Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of what drives firms’ choice between exploration alliances and exploitation alliances by examining the role of organizational slack and its interaction with market uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach An empirical study is conducted based on 1,614 alliances formed by 581 US biotechnology firms, and the hypotheses are tested using a zero-inflated multilevel Poisson model. Findings The results indicate that firms’ strategic choice to pursue exploration or exploitation alliances is a reflection of organizational intention and adaptation to environmental turbulence. More specifically, firms with more financial slack tend to form more exploration alliances and fewer exploitation alliances. However, under high market uncertainty, firms with financial slack tend to establish more exploitative partnerships and avoid exploration collaborations. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature on exploration–exploitation alliances, which tends to fall short of providing an understanding of why organizations pursue such alliances. By identifying the impact of organizational slack and its interaction with market uncertainty, this study shows that organizations are able to respond to environmental change, and those with capabilities are likely to craft their strategic choice configurations based on their own characteristics.

中文翻译：

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市场不确定性下的勘探与开发联盟的战略选择

目的本文的目的是通过研究组织松弛的作用及其与市场不确定性的相互作用，来更好地理解是什么驱动着企业在勘探联盟和开发联盟之间进行选择。设计/方法/方法基于由581家美国生物技术公司组成的1,614个联盟进行了实证研究，并使用零膨胀的多层Poisson模型检验了假设。结果结果表明，企业追求勘探或开发联盟的战略选择反映了组织意图和对环境动荡的适应。更具体地说，财务闲散程度较高的公司往往会形成更多的勘探联盟，而更少的剥削联盟。但是，在市场高度不确定的情况下，资金匮乏的公司倾向于建立更多的剥削性伙伴关系，并避免勘探合作。原创性/价值本文为有关勘探与开发联盟的文献做出了贡献，但往往不足以提供对组织为何追求这种联盟的理解。通过确定组织松弛的影响及其与市场不确定性的相互作用，这项研究表明组织能够应对环境变化，有能力的组织可能会根据自身特点制定战略选择配置。往往无法提供对组织为何追求这种联盟的理解。通过确定组织松弛的影响及其与市场不确定性的相互作用，这项研究表明组织能够应对环境变化，有能力的组织可能会根据自身特点制定战略选择配置。这往往无法提供对组织为何追求这种联盟的理解。通过确定组织松弛的影响及其与市场不确定性的相互作用，这项研究表明组织能够应对环境变化，有能力的组织可能会根据自身特点制定战略选择配置。