Institutionalist Theories and Inter-Firm Alliances: The Transaction Cost, Competence and Evolutionary Debate Revisited

Abstract

The article compares the three major institutionalist schools, namely transaction cost economics (TCE), competencies theory (CT) and evolutionary theory (ET) of the firm, on a contemporary issue, that of strategic business alliances. The article finds that, based on different assumptions and perspectives, the three approaches shed light on different elements of strategic alliances. While most of their contributions are complementary, there are some clear oppositions among them. The authors conclude that a composite framework of the competencies and the evolutionary approaches, using some insights of TCE, provide the most comprehensive set of questions and hypothesis.