How Central Is Too Central? Organizing Interorganizational Collaboration Networks for Breakthrough Innovation

John Qi Dong, Killian J. McCarthy, Wilfred Schoenmakers · 2017 · Journal of Product Innovation Management

Summary. In the U.S. pharmaceutical industry between 1985 and 2001, firms achieved breakthrough innovation by collaborating with central alliance partners, but only up to a point. Beyond optimal centrality, innovation performance declined. Firms with more private partners relative to public partners experienced less performance loss from excessive central partner collaboration. The findings show that strategic partner selection in alliance networks directly shapes breakthrough innovation outcomes.

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Dong, J. Q., McCarthy, K. J., & Schoenmakers, W.. (2017). How Central Is Too Central? Organizing Interorganizational Collaboration Networks for Breakthrough Innovation. Journal of Product Innovation Management. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12384

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  title   = {How Central Is Too Central? Organizing Interorganizational Collaboration Networks for Breakthrough Innovation},
  author  = {John Qi Dong and Killian J. McCarthy and Wilfred Schoenmakers},
  journal = {Journal of Product Innovation Management},
  year    = {2017},
  doi     = {10.1111/jpim.12384},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12384}
}

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AU  - John Qi Dong
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Details

DOI: 10.1111/jpim.12384
Countries: United States
Regions: North America
Categories: innovation-networks, innovation-theory, general-innovation
Added: 2026-04-28