AN EMPIRICAL-ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES BY ENTREPRENEURIAL HIGH-TECHNOLOGY FIRMS

Many start‐up, high‐technology firms commercialize an emerging technology through cooperative arrangements. This paper empirically investigates the determinants of entrepreneurial high‐technology firms to form cooperative relationships. The statistical results on data drawn from the commercialization of the new biotechnology show that the propensity to cooperate is positively correlated with the distance of firms' competitive position in relation to their rivals. The follower is more likely to seek cooperative relationships than the leader in commercializing new products. However, the competitive pressure impacts firms in different ways, depending on their internal capabilities to commercialize a new product. We found that firm size is negatively correlated with the use of cooperative arrangements. The study also found that the organizational mode of cooperative arrangements is predominantly selected by the high‐tech. start‐up firm in commercializing their new products in foreign markets. Copyright © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.