sult in firms selecting inappropriate partners and dismissing the appropriate. We argue
that critical resources are not prerequisites for alliance formation and may not even form
the primary reason. Rather, we advance an evolutionary approach that includes an as-
sessment of the importance of both resource endowments and aspiration levels over time.
This approach implies that it at times actually may be beneficial for firms to ally with
weak partners. (Kale, Dyer, & Singh, 2002) (Utterback & Kim, 1986)
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