Thesis

Course Manual Thesis

International Business

Theme: International cooperation in Strategic

Alliances: an individual-level perspective

Supervisor:

Martin Pit, MSc.

([email protected])

2

1. Required Output Students are required to write a complete scientific paper comparable (in terms of structure) to

the ones that are found in many scientific journals. This paper will describe a moderation or a

mediation model (i.e., model with three variables: IV, DV, and a mediator or moderator).

The bachelor thesis should consist of the following parts:

1. Title, abstract, keywords

2. Introduction

- Introduction of the topic

- Identification of research gap/problem

- Hypothesis (how will this research solve the gap/problem?)

- Theoretical contributions

- Practical contributions

3. Theory

- Definition of terms

- (short) Review of the literature

- Argumentation of the hypothesis (why do you expect this)

NOTE: the theory section is not necessarily written in this order. Often you provide a definition

of one of the variables, then give a review of the literature of that specific variable. Then move on

to defining variable number 2, then arguing for their possible relationship etc. This depends on

what works for your specific model and the story you want to tell.

4. Methods

- Procedures

- Sample

- Measures

5. Results

- Descriptives

- Analyses

6. Discussion

- Short summary (few sentences) that repeats the main goals and findings

- Theoretical implications

- Practical implications

- Limitations and future research directions

7. References

3

Lay-out The student is required to use the AMJ Style Guide for the layout of the thesis. Only thesis

documents (like research set-up, draft versions) that are in line with the style guide will be given

feedback by the supervisor. This is a very simple style guide, details can be found here:

http://aom.org/publications/amj/styleguide/

Examples of formatted articles can be found with the Academy of Management journals, most

notably the Academy of Management Journal.

Length requirements There are no official length requirements. The length of each segment and the paper as a whole,

will depend on the particularities of your topic, how standard your methodology is, your writing

style, etc.

As a very broad and flexible guideline, however, this is about space you will typically allocate to

each section:

• Introduction (2-3 pages)

• Theory (5-8 pages)

• Methods (2-4 pages)

• Results (2 pages)

• Discussion (4 pages)

Note that this is not a very long paper, but it will likely take you longer than any other paper you

have ever made before. Don’t underestimate it! Length of the Bachelor’s thesis is approximately

6000 words.

4

2. Topic

Introduction

Students will write their bachelor thesis on a topic on International Strategic Alliances (SAs). SAs

are cross-border, cooperative relationships between two or more independent organizations,

where resources are pooled to achieve joint goals.

International SAs are generally considered valuable for organizations to gain competitive

advantage or to handle dynamic markets. Despite the benefits of SAs for companies in terms of

competitive advantage, failure rates of SAs are often seen to be higher than 50% - leaving

companies with unexpected costs and problems.

This problem has instigated scholars to examine what are the underlying mechanisms that

facilitate successful cooperation among alliance partners. Alliance literature has, for example,

explored the role of structural (e.g. contractual/institutional) and relational mechanisms (e.g.

trust) in facilitating cooperation between alliance partners. Yet, this work demonstrates divergent

findings on the degree to which these two mechanisms, alone or conjointly, explain effective

cooperation in this context.

Research topic

International SAs pose a complex, interesting phenomenon for research – where firms encounter

not only differences with their partner, but also their institutional environment.

For particular interest in this research project is the relational side of these alliances – how are

relational mechanisms (such as trust, commitment or (national)culture) in a SA formed, or; how

do these in turn impact SA performance?

Students are expected to review current alliance literature, and are asked to either build basic

research questions from literature, or are given the opportunity to further develop current

debates.

Prior work on cooperation between employees or groups has shown that identity can be a source

of cooperation, or a source for conflict and misunderstanding. Identity broadly refers to a person’s

answer to the question: who am I, what do I stand for, and how am I different from those around

me?”

Organizational identity then represents the concept: “who are we as an organization, what does

this organization stand for, and how is this organization different from those around it?”

Generally speaking, identity literature presumes that we cooperate best with people who are

similar; who share a similar identity to that of us. When it comes to people with a different

identity, literature generally presumes that this can be a source of conflict or misunderstanding.

However, in the alliance context we have employees from two independent organizations work

with one another. How do common assumptions hold in identity literature work in this context?

5

Topic 1: the role of (organizational) identity in Strategic Alliances.

In this topic, students are encouraged to examine how identities of the organizations that take

part in an alliance play a role in the way in which employees cooperate with one another.

Additionally, students might examine contextual factors that can influence this relationship (for

example looking at industry or national culture of the organizations).

Some examples of research in this topic:

› How does having a similar organizational identity impact trust between employees in a

strategic alliance, versus having a different organizational identity?

› Does a shared organizational identity foster knowledge exchange between organizations?

› Does the degree of integration between organizations affect the role of identity on cooperation?

Topic 2: the role of (organizational) identity in Multi-partner Strategic

Alliances

To strengthen the ability to compete and innovate, participation in alliances has become an

increasingly popular strategy for firms. To create potential for organizations that would be

difficult to gain independently or via other means, partnerships are more frequently formed with

a multitude of different partners: referred to as Multi-partner Strategic Alliances (MSAs). Given

their complexity for organizations, these bring with them additional challenges in managing and

coordinating – to reap potential benefits.

In this topic, students are encouraged to examine the role of identity, taking the context of the

Multi-partner Strategic Alliance.

Some examples of research in this topic:

› How does a group identity affect coordination between employees in a multi-partner alliance?

› How can organizations in MPAs coordinate issues of identity?

Topic 3: individual perceptions of identity

The way in which identity plays a role in alliances can be dependent upon organizational or

institutional contexts. However, individual employees might also be affected by identity in

different ways. In this topic students are encouraged to explore how individual

traits/characteristics of employees affect their response/perception towards organizational

identity.

Some examples of research in this topic:

› Does an employees’ inherent need to be liked by others affect the way in which they perceive

differences in organizational identity?

6

› Are employees that are by themselves likely to trust others affected by similarities in

organizational identity?

› What role does (national) culture play in awareness of similarities/differences in

organizational identity?

NOTE: the research questions provided are just examples and are not a restrictive list – you are

welcome to create your own research question, as long as it fits within the related sub-topic.

7

Research method

During the bachelor thesis, students are free to choose from a selection of methods. The design

of a bachelor thesis can look as follows:

Conceptual

Students can opt to write a conceptual paper (i.e. to provide an overview of the literature, with the

goal to build propositions for further research). This would encompass a systematic literature

review where students identify and synthesize prior research. Overall, a systematic literature

attempts ‘to identify, appraise and synthesize all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified

eligibility criteria to answer a given research question’ (Cochrane definition, 2013).

For example, a student could conduct a systematic literature review to build propositions on the

role of building a similar organizational identity on trust in the alliance context.

Empirical

Students also have the option to write an empirical paper. In this setting, students develop a model

with hypotheses (supported by theory), which are then put to the test. In general, there are two

main approaches:

Qualitative study: students can collect qualitative data (i.e. through interviews) to gain

insights into their research question, or to build propositions for future research. For

example, a student could decide look into the role of identity in Multi-Partner Alliances

by conducting interviews among employees engaged in a Multi-Partner Alliance.

Quantitative study: students can gather qualitative data (e.g. through scenario-based

experiments or surveys) to empirically test the hypotheses in their relationships. For

example, a student could decide to look at how creating an alliance identity affects an

employees’ willingness to cooperate, by creating a scenario and measuring the related

variables - setting these out in their social circle or by approaching companies.

8

3. Literature

Below is a list of literature to help and get you started. Note that this is not an exhaustive list,

and you are encouraged to find literature that fits within your own research topic/interest. The

papers here are meant to give you an initial idea of the concepts and overarching research area.

Note: the papers are not sorted in a specific order.

1. On social and organizational identity

Ellemers, N., & Rink, F. (2005). Identity in work groups: The beneficial and detrimental

consequences of multiple identities and group norms for collaboration and group

performance. In S. Thye, & E. Lawler (Eds.), Social Identification in Groups (pp. 1-41).

(Advances in Group Processes; Vol. 22). New York Elsevier Press.

Mathias, Ph.D., Blake & Huyghe, Annelore & Frid, Casey & Galloway, Tera. (2017). An Identity

Perspective on Coopetition in The Craft Beer Industry. Strategic Management Journal.

39. 10.1002/smj.2734.

2. On Strategic Alliances (SAs)

Das, T. K., & Teng, B.-S. (2001). Trust, Control, and Risk in Strategic Alliances: An Integrated

Framework. Organization Studies, 22(2), 251–283.

Inkpen, A.C.. (2009). Strategic Alliances. The Oxford Handbook of International Business (2

ed.).

Ireland, R. & Hitt, Michael & Vaidyanath, Deepa. (2002). Alliance Management as a Source of

Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management. 28. 413–446.

Varadarajan, P. R., & Cunningham, M. H. (1995). Strategic Alliances: A Synthesis of Conceptual

Foundations. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 23(4), 282–296.

3. On Multi-partner Strategic Alliances (MSAs)

Das, T. K. (Ed.). (2015). Managing multipartner strategic alliances. Charlotte, NC: Information

Age.

Das, T., & Teng, B. (2002). Alliance Constellations: A Social Exchange Perspective. The

Academy of Management Review, 27(3), 445-456.

Li, D., Eden, L., Hitt, M., Ireland, R., & Garrett, R. (2012). Governance in Multilateral R&D

Alliances. Organization Science, 23(4), 1191-1210.

9

4. On research methodology

Boland, A., Cherry, G., & Dickson, R. (Eds.). (2017). Doing a systematic review: A student's

guide. Sage.

Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management

Review, 14, 532–550.

Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (1998). Multivariate

data analysis, 5(3), 207-219. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice hall.

10

4.Time table (subject to small changes)

Week Meetings Deadlines

Week 7 Meeting 1: 14/09 Intro meeting

Week 8 Deadline 1: Research model. When: February 23rd, 5.00 PM.

Week 9 Meeting 2: 28/09 How to write intro and theory section (proposal) Per email: receive feedback on research model

Week 10 Q&A meetings: make an appointment Deadline 2: Proposal (draft intro & theory section). When: March 12th, 5.00 PM (before noon for faster feedback).

Week 11 Meeting 3: 13/3 On methods and data Per email: receive proposal feedback

Week 12 Optional: Q&A meetings on data collection: make an appointment

Go/no-go advice.

Week 13 Optional: Q&A meetings on data collection: make an appointment

Week 14 Deadline 3: Send intro/theory for peer feedback. When: April 1st, 09:00 AM.

Week 15 Deadline 4: Send peer feedback. When: April 8th, 09.00 AM

Week 16 Meeting 4: 17/4 Statistics crash course

Week 17 Q&A Individual meetings on statistics (Bring your laptop/data/analyses)

Week 18

Week 19 Deadline 5: Full draft of thesis (including methods, results, discussion). When: May 7th, 9.00 AM. Deadline 6: Send full draft of thesis for peer feedback. When: May 7th, 9.00 AM

Week 20 Meeting 5: 15/5 Presentations part 1 Deadline 7: Send peer feedback. When: May 15th, 9.00 AM

Week 21 Per email: receive thesis feedback

Week 22 Meeting 6: 29/5 Presentations part 2 Final Q&A: make an appointment (last chance for feedback)

Week 23 Final deadline: Final version of Bachelor thesis. When: on or before 10.00 AM on Tuesday, June 2nd Electronic copy via the Student Portal / Nestor BSc thesis IB (“thesis upload”) and a hard copy to supervisor and co-assessor (same day, before 4.30PM).

Week 24

Week 25 Before or on Tuesday, June 16th: Supervisor communicates grades and feedback to students.

11

Week 26 Before or on Friday, June 26th (10 a.m.): In case of a grade lower than 6, students submit improved versions of their Bachelor’s thesis. Students submit via the Student Portal /Nestor BSc thesis IB “thesis upload” → “upload improved version” and a hard copy to their supervisor and the co-assessor.

If the thesis has been graded 6 or higher Students submit on the Student Portal / Nestor site: “FEB Thesis Evaluation and Archiving”.

NOTE 1: For Q&A meetings you need to make an appointment yourself with the supervisor. A

link will be sent before every meeting that allows you to pick a free slot. Unless otherwise

specified these meetings take place at the supervisor’s office (room 349, third floor, take a left

when leaving the elevator or stairs in the middle of the building). Locations for group meetings

will vary and can be checked on Nestor (schedule generator).

NOTE 2: Documents for the deadlines have to be submitted via email. Hardcopy is not

necessary, except for the final version. For the final version, a simple print (stapled) is enough.

Contact supervisor if you can’t deliver the hard copy (e.g., when you are abroad).

NOTE 3: The meetings in the schedule are obligatory. You are allowed to miss one meeting, but

you have to contact the thesis supervisor beforehand, and have a valid reason for missing the

meeting. Failure to attend one or more of the meetings without a valid reason will lead to

exclusion of the course and a grade of 1.

NOTE 4: Inability to meet deadlines can have several consequences: failure to meet

paper/model deadlines will lead to you not receiving feedback that round (which can have a

serious impact on your final grade).

12

Clarification of deadlines

Deadline 1: Research model

Hand in minimum 1/maximum 2 pages with: conceptual model; hypotheses; short explanation

for every hypothesis; research gap and contributions.

Deadline 2: Proposal (intro and theory)

On the basis of the feedback to the research model you write an introduction (on average 2

pages, sometimes 3), and theory section that functions as research proposal. You can see in the

beginning of this manual what the intro and theory section entail.

Deadline 3: Send intro/theory for peer feedback

Every student is matched with a peer student. These two students provide each other with

feedback. Make sure you send a well-improved version of the proposal so that you can get most

of the feedback from your peer.

Deadline 4: Send peer feedback

Use the general thesis assessment form to review the work of a peer. Send the feedback to both

your peer and the thesis supervisor.

Deadline 5: Full draft

Take this opportunity to get feedback on a version of your work that is as complete as possible.

Focus on getting the intro, theory, method and results ready and at least list a few points of

attention for the discussion. During the presentations we will, as a group, give extra input for the

discussion.

Deadline 6: Send full draft of thesis for peer feedback.

Send the draft of your thesis to your peer for feedback.

Deadline 7: Send peer feedback.

Use the general thesis assessment form to review the work of a peer. Send the feedback to both

your peer and the thesis supervisor.