13
Management aspects
Furthermore it can be pointed out that the way a company is managed has an
impact on the likelihood of participating in R&D co-operations. In companies
led by management the decision to join such a partnership is significantly more
likely to be made than in independent firms led by their owner. In all probability,
this can be attributed to the specific culture of owner-led companies. Owners in
general prefer to stay independent in their decision-making. They seem to be
less willing to co-operate and share their management power with partners. For
managers the threshold to open parts of the company for a joint working pro-
ject seems to be much lower. This might be due to the experiences of these
decision-makers working together with the parent company.
This finding can explain the differences in co-operation between the companies
in Eastern and Western Germany discussed in chapter 4.The share of small
companies in Eastern Germany, which are led by management, is relatively
high compared to those in Western Germany. This might be the reason why
small companies in Eastern Germany are more often willing to join R&D co-
operations than their counterparts in the Western part of the country.
Experiences with other forms of co-operations
The results of the logistic regression provide evidence that there is a connec-
tion between experiences with other forms of co-operations and the willingness
to join an R&D co-operation. The management of companies that have experi-
enced the regulatory mechanisms of co-operations in recent years, find signifi-
cantly better access to R&D partnerships than others with no such background.
This result is supported by the findings of WOLFF et al.: They suggest that
dealing with an R&D co-operation can be learned (1994, p.18). Companies that
have had these experiences know better what to consider when choosing a
partner. It seems that these experiences are not imperative when entering such
alliances, but at least if one has had success with such experiences the inhibi-
tions to form future partnerships will be reduced.
This finding also has another possible background: It can be assumed that
chances to co-operate in R&D occur even more often when companies know
partners from earlier co-operative relationships. Being part of such a network
provides the necessary contacts and seems to open doors for new partner-
ships. Knowing each other personally offers security and makes it easier to win
a partner for a new project. Opportunities for conjoint R&D might even develop
out of existing co-operations.