Evaluating technological collaborative opportunities: A cognitive modeling perspective

Abstract

Academic scholars, practitioners, and the public press have reported a number of factors believed to be relevant to decisions regarding technological collaboration. However, little known about how executives actually weigh and integrate the available information during the evaluation process. The exploratory study uses policy capturing to examine managerial and economic information top executives consider when evaluating scenarios representative of cooperative technology development opportunities. Top executives are found to incorporate information associated with several prominent theories in the strategy literature (e.g., normative strategy, transaction cost economics, options theory). Executive cognitive limitations were also found to influence the evaluations. The study's results suggest a preliminary integrated behavioral model of the factors managers use in assessments of technological collaborative opportunities. Implications for research and practice are set forth.