The Impact of Organizational Settings on Creativity and Learning in Alliances

Abstract

Data from a cross-industry sample confirm the effects of different organizational structures on dynamic capabilities in alliance settings. Our work integrates the literatures pertinent to organizational structure and the learning and creativity processes that characterize dynamic capabilities in alliances. Our results suggest that centralized structures in alliances hinder creativity and learning, and that formalization impedes learning in alliances. Supporting the arguments put forward by authors such as Burns and Stalker (1961), our results suggest that mechanistic structures in alliance teams hinder the development of dynamic capabilities, whereas organic structures are more conducive in these interorganizational settings.