Alliance Portfolio Complexity and Order-of-Entry Learning Effects in Int'l Alliance Formations

This study sheds light into the various theoretical drivers of international alliance formation with special attention to the order-of-entry learning effects in increasing the benefits and mitigating the costs of alliance portfolio complexity. Evidence from the global airline industry from period 1982 to 2010 shows that order-of-entry of a focal firm moderates the relationship between the focal firm's alliance portfolio complexity and the firm's propensity to form new international alliances. Our findings suggest that the differing experiential learning effects of early and late entrants will partially account for the heterogeneity of how firms handle alliance portfolio complexity.