Governance, negotiations, and alliance dynamics: Explaining the evolution of relational practice

Abstract

This paper explores relational practice in strategic alliances. Focusing on how governance mechanisms and negotiation strategies evolve and form patterns of interaction that are under influence of both recursive and adaptive forces, four modes of relational practice are discussed: recursively integrative, recursively distributive, adaptive toward integrative, and adaptive toward distributive. Three longitudinal cases are examined. I find that different contractual conditions enable (or restrain) interaction patterns. Negotiation behaviour, in turn, affects future contractual conditions and their combination and recombination form the evolution of relational practice. As relationships progress, initial governance mechanisms are complemented and negotiation behaviours change. I explain how perceptions of both process and relational outcomes influence relational practice. In addition, I explicate why relational practices have both recursive and adaptive characteristics, and identify conditions that cause relational practices to move towards more integrative or distributive modes. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.