Case Studies: Ambidextrous Collaborations of RCOs: Corporate-Startup and SME-Startup Alliances

As explained in Sect. 4.5.2 (Within Case Analysis & Cross-Case Analysis), the following chapter (5.1) presents detailed case reports of four alliances between resource-constrained and non-resource-constrained organizations in the form of corporate-startup alliances. Two of these case reports involve successful cases and two feature failed cases. Subsequently, Sect. 5.2 addresses the cross-case analysis and the development of an empirical model via inductive reasoning. The model encompasses explanatory conditions as well as mechanisms that influence ambidextrous alliance success. In Sect. 5.3, I compare the empirical model with the findings from the SME-startup sample to test the model’s generalizability and analyze whether the results remain valid for a setting in which both alliance partners are resource-constrained.