THE IMPACT OF CONTEXTUAL CONDITIONS ON THE RESOURCE ACQUISITION STRATEGIES OF CORPORATE VENTURES: A COMPARISON OF INTERNAL VERSUS EXTERNAL CORPORATE VENTURES

Abstract: Research question: How do the contextual conditions differentiating internal and external corporate ventures influence their resource acquisition strategies? Methodology: The analysis of the study is based on four cases consisting of two internal corporate ventures and two external corporate ventures. Data was gathered through in- depth qualitative interviews with the corporate entrepreneur managing the venture. Theoretical perspectives: the thesis is built on the following theories: Corporate venturing (Sharma & Chrisman, 1999; Keil, 2002; Miles and Covin, 2002), resource acquisition strategies of corporate and independent ventures (Starr and MacMillan, 1990; Lopes, Cunha, & Da Palma, 2009), contextual conditions of corporate and independent ventures (Greene, Brush & Hart, 1999; Sykes, 1986; Burgers et al., 2009). Conclusions: This research focused on current gaps in corporate venturing literature, namely the influence of the contextual conditions differentiating internal and external corporate venture on their resource acquisition strategies. The findings demonstrate that contextual conditions do indeed impact the choice of resource acquisition strategies. Furthermore, the degree of relatedness to the parent company in terms of resource dependency and base business affiliation has a substantial impact. Internal and external corporate ventures are both likely to apply the network positioning strategy but it is predominant in internal corporate ventures due to their characteristics of resource dependence, base business relatedness, and cultural fit. External corporate ventures that are far removed from these characteristics are more likely to employ the engaging capability dimension of the idea selling strategy. Lastly, the findings support Lopes, Cunha and Da Palma’s (2009) two-way framework by illustrating the relationship between the network positioning and legitimacy dimensions.