The relevance of inter-personal ties and inter-organizational tie strength for outcomes of research collaborations in South Korea

Abstract

Inter-personal ties have long been recognized as relevant not only for interaction between individuals, but also for knowledge transfer and other important outcomes of business activities. This applies in particular to East Asian countries such as South Korea where informal social networks are widely prevalent in business and society. However, less is known about their role in inter-organizational collaboration efforts, such as research collaborations. This exploratory study examines the relevance of inter-personal ties and inter-organizational tie strength for interaction quality and outcomes of research collaborations in South Korea. Two types of research collaborations are studied: new product development (NPD) collaborations between companies and university-industry research collaborations (UICs). Inter-personal ties are found in a majority of both types of collaborations being studied. However, whereas inter-organizational tie strength is positively related to outcomes of these research collaborations, inter-personal ties are not. Managers should thus not primarily rely on inter-personal ties for partner selection and the management of research collaborations.