Partner selection in strategic alliances for innovation: An individual-level framework for assessing goodwill and competence

Partner choice in strategic innovation alliances determines the extent to which effective collaboration and value creation is possible. Therefore, choosing a suitable partner is critical for alliance management and success. Yet, the partner selection process requires careful balancing of a complex set of criteria under time pressure and with limited information. We propose that an understanding of the psychological processes underlying alliance managers’ subjective evaluations of potential partners’ suitability in the alliance formation phase could provide valuable insights into the partner selection process. By drawing upon work in social cognition and organizational behavior, we present a framework that identifies the key dimensions (warmth and competence) used by alliance managers to evaluate potential partner firm’s trustworthiness based on their interactions with the individuals representing these firms. We advance propositions linking initial evaluations of potential partner firms’ representatives to firm attractiveness, selection and the development of interpersonal trust as a precursor of inter-organizational trust.