Centre for Technology Management

Managing partnerships between technology-based start-ups and established firms

As companies face pressure from increased competition, shortening product life cycles and growing product complexity many are finding they need to change the way they develop new technologies, products and services. There has been a trend in many sectors away from a mostly closed to a more open model of innovation as companies realise they can no longer afford to rely solely on their own R&D and need to acquire ideas from others.

Within this environment start-ups can be an important source of ideas for larger companies. Technology-based start-ups typically lack the strategic and operational rigidities that sometimes stifle innovation in established firms. On the other hand, start-ups have limited resources and often struggle to access the complementary assets they need to get their ideas to market.

Bringing together start-ups and established firms in mutually beneficial partnerships seems an obvious solution. Research shows that making such partnerships work can be problematic. However, there are ways to increase the chances of success. This website provides access to resources that support the development of successful partnerships. 

Events

A series of training events on managing partnerships between start-ups and larger firms have been run by the IfM team in the past 24 months, and further events are planned for 2009-2010. If you would like to learn more about these events, please email Jo Griffiths.

Project briefing notes

• IfM Briefing Paper: "Partnerships between technology-based start-ups and established firms: making them work"
• Key facts: "What every start-up should know about large firms"
• Key facts: "What every large firm should know about start-ups"
• Key facts: "Problems with large firm/start-up firm partnerships"
• Key facts: "Guidelines for large firm/start-up firm partnerships"

Case studies

• "SoftCo and ComputerCo" - 2-page summary of the formation, setup and termination of a partnership between a small software start-up and a large multinational hardware company. This case illustrates many of the common challenges faced in making 'asymmetric' partnerships work.
• "Cambridge Display Technology (CDT)" - a summary of the way in which CDT has built its business model around partnerships with a range of companies in order to build the 'technology ecosystem' needed to get its P-OLED technology to market.

Useful links

• Innovation East: A publicly-funded regional technology transfer and partnering service linking firms in the East of England to international markets and partners.
• Yet2.com: A commercial website focused on bringing buyers and sellers of technologies together so that all parties maximize the return on their investments.
• Science Business: An independent news service that brings together buyers and sellers of emerging technologies.
• Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals: An association dedicated to alliance formation and practice. Provides a forum to exchange alliance best practices, resources, and opportunities
• Article from 'The Engineer': "Marriage counselling - When companies of different sizes work together .."
• Article from 'Electronics Weekly': "Management techniques for big vs.small"

Research papers

IfM has been researching issues related to the formation and management of partnerships. Example outputs of this work are given below. To access drafts of these papers, please email Tim Minshall.

• Minshall, T. H. W., L. Mortara, S. Elia and D. Probert (2008). "Development of practitioner guidelines for partnerships between start-ups and large firms." Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 19(3): 391 - 406..
• Minshall, T. H. W., S. Seldon and D. Probert (2007). "Commercializing a disruptive technology based upon university IP through open innovation: A case study of Cambridge Display Technology." International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management 4(3).
• Fraser, P., T. H. W. Minshall and D. Probert (2005). The distributed innovation paradigm: Evolution and dynamics. 6th International CINet Conference Continuous Innovation - (Ways of) Making Things Happen, Brighton, 4-7 September 2005.
• Fraser, P., T. H. W. Minshall and D. Probert (2005). Them and us - asymmetric dyads involving early-stage technology firms. 27th R&D Management Association (RADMA) Conference 2005, 6-8 July, Pisa, Italy.
• Minshall, T. H. W. (1999). "A resource-based view of alliances:The case of the handheld computer industry." International Journal of Innovation Management 3(2): 159-183.
• Minshall, T. H. W. (2003). Alliance business models for university start-up technology ventures: A resource based perspective. 11th High Tech Small Firms Conference, 12-13 June 2003, Manchester Business School, Manchester, UK.
• Minshall, T. H. W. (2005). Alliance business models for university start-up technology ventures: A resource-based perspective. New technology-based firms in the new millennium Volume IV. W. During, R. Oakey and S. Kauser. Oxford, UK, Elsevier, ISBN 10-0-08-044619-1: 203-218.
• Minshall, T. H. W., S. Elia, P. Fraser, L. Mortara and D. Probert (2006). Development of a management guide for partnerships between technology-based start-ups and established firms. International Association for the Management of Technology (IAMOT) EuroMOT Conference 2006, September 10 - 12, Aston Business School, Aston University, Birmingham, U.K.
• Minshall, T. H. W., P. Fraser, R. Valli and D. Probert (2005). Resource-based view of partnerships between technology-based start-ups and established firms: A case study of Cambridge Display Technology (CDT). Portland International Conference on the Management of Technology (PICMET), 31 July - 4 August, 2005, Portland, Oregon, USA.
• Minshall, T. H. W., R. Valli, P. Fraser and D. Probert (2005). Partnerships between technology-based start-ups and established firms: Initial evidence from the Cambridge (U.K.) high technology business cluster. 14th International Association for the Managamenet of Technology (IAMOT) Conference, May 22-26, 2005., Vienna, Austria.