Failure sources in R&D consortia: the case of mobile service development

This study reveals the processes through which firms can cope with sources of failure in R&D consortia in emerging high-tech markets. We use a single case design, focusing on mobile service development to investigate the value-creating and value-dissipating activities in a R&D consortium. We collected longitudinal data on the collaborative processes in the alliance through semi-structured interviews, observations and archival researches for over 24 months. The findings suggest that R&D consortia increase the chances of success, when diverging interest can be mitigated, cognition can be aligned and agreement on time preferences can be reached. We also find that if attempts to manage such challenges are ill-timed in the process phases of strategic imagination, common ground development, coordinating contributions and performance, the success of R&D consortia is called into question, because the participants maximise their private benefits at the expense of the common ones. We conclude with managerial implications, which suggest a simple, yet integrative framework for managing R&D consortia in the context of service development, and offer fruitful future research avenues.