Increased Dispersion Necessitates Better
Management. UNCTAD (1993) concludes that
MNEs’ integrated sourcing, technological production and marketing networks alter the
dynamics of the international location of FDI.
Particularly, ownership advantages are exploited
through networks of intra-firm and/or inter-firm
transactions. Duysters et al. (1999) identify three
implications from this network perspective.
Firstly, collaborations should be managed within a
portfolio of alliances. Partner selection therefore
becomes crucial, and should invoke an analysis of
bilateral and multilateral fit of respective
contributions. Secondly, the network should
leverage knowledge and diffuse it across
organizational frontiers. Thirdly, as there is a
difference between managing alliances as
contracts, or as a set of competences, combining
competences in a network is core to this portfolio
approach. This emphasis in alliance management
leads to the fourth hypothesis: