Looking beyond the boundaries of acquired firms: Exploring the phenomenon of inherited alliances

While traditionally research has looked at strategic alliances and acquisitions separately, in practice we observe that an acquirer may be confronted with the alliance agreements of the acquired firm. In my dissertation, I refer to an alliance of an acquired firm that an acquirer inherits through an acquisition as inherited alliance. The core objective of this dissertation is, therefore, to provide a better understanding of the unique characteristics that make the inherited alliances different from the homegrown alliances, and their implications. To achieve this goal, I conducted three empirical studies, using practitioners’ insights as well as rich secondary data from the biotechnology industry.


In the first project, I firstly explore the phenomenon of inherited alliances by conducting interviews with biotechnology executives. Relying on these insights, I test the impact of the inherited alliances in a firm’s alliance portfolio on firm financial performance. The second project focuses on the navigating role of the acquired firm in the resilience of an alliance to an alliance partner acquisition. I test four hypotheses under which the acquired firm is likely to improve the inherited alliance’s resilience to an alliance partner acquisition. In the final project, I focus on the role of the inherited alliances in the post-acquisition governance and the moderating effect of the prior alliance tie between the acquiring and acquired firm. Together, this dissertation offers important insights into inherited alliances, helping us to better understand the different alliance origins and why acquired firm’s alliances should not be ignored in the acquisition deals.