This paper provides evidence showing that collaborative agreements in the IT industry contribute to decrease the R&D intensity of the largest firms. This is particularly true for acquisitions (as opposed to alliances, consortia and joint ventures) and for the mixed agreements (i.e. with a sales,...

In the I.T. industry, which was confronted to a major transition phase during the 90's, partnerships became a strategic component of the new "divided technical leadership" which emerged from the industry vertical disintegration. This paper attempts to evaluate the impact of 1676 partnerships on...