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RESEARCH PRODUCT

The role of Private Equity-firms in the formation of strategic alliances

subject

description

This research analyses the role of Private Equity firms in the formation of strategic alliances within the field of the French Private Equity market. We start to provide evidence of its importance from new survey information, before offering an explanation of the organizational phenomenon. The study addresses the questions of how and why Private Equity firms act as relational intermediaries to help their portfolio companies form alliances. Both questions are investigated in the light of the Private Equity firms’ contribution to the value creation process that comes with alliance formation. Answers are provided by means of three jointly used theoretical frameworks: (1) mainstream theories (transaction cost theory and the positive theory of agency); (2) the knowledge based view; and 3) social network theories to complement the resulting from jointly use of the previous two theories. The theoretical construct is then tested empirically by means of a multi-method study with explanatory design, based on the pattern of joint evidence from both statistical tests and a multiple case study. Results show that French Private Equity firms do play a role in alliance formation. This role can be intentional as well as non-intentional. Furthermore, although arguments from the knowledge-based perspective finds more support in explaining this behavior than from the mainstream theories, our study highlights the benefits of the joint use of these theories and the complementary nature of them to better explaining the phenomenon as a whole.