Alliances of service firms and manufacturers: Relations and configurations of entrepreneurial orientation and hybrid innovation

Alliances between service firms and manufacturers in pursuit of joint hybrid innovations face both advantages and challenges. This study analyzes the ambivalence in service firm-manufacturer alliances via complementarities versus divergences. The mixed method approach consists of a multiple case study of 12 firms, regression analysis, and a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) of a sample of 190 firms. The three methods deliver consistent and robust results that complement each other. Findings are that a service firm's entrepreneurial orientation enhances joint hybrid innovation and alliances with manufacturers. Divergences between firms have ambivalent influences on joint hybrid innovation, depending on the service firm's entrepreneurial orientation and the equity arrangement of the alliance.