Knowledge complementarity: Transforming buyer-seller relationships for synergistic effects

摘要

In a turbulent market environment, creating innovative products that exceed customer expectations is a crucial priority for firms in a buyer-seller relationship. Often, the most expedient route for a firm is to seek to develop new competencies through a collaboration with another firm possessing complementing intellectual property (IP). Despite much research, the role of knowledge complementarity (KC) in buyer-seller relationships is still not well defined. A new framework using absorptive capacity characterizes distinct types of KC and its effects on buyer-seller relationships. This initial research establishes a theoretical basis for later empirical work on buyer-seller relationships that generate new IP.