ALLIANCE PORTFOLIO AND INNOVATIVE PERFORMANCE OF BRAZILIAN INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT The main objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between Alliance Portfolio Diversity (APD) and the firm's innovative performance, especially when R&D capacity (RDCAP) and Specialized Complementary Assets (SCA) moderate this relationship at different points in the firm's value chain; the study also identifies the nature of the relationship between such moderators. It applies econometric methods to a database comprised of 13,020 companies from Brazilian industry. The results reveal an inverted U-shaped curvilinear relationship between APD and innovative performance, as well as the effective positive moderation of this relationship by the RDCAP and the SCA. This research contributes to the literature on firm knowledge, especially theories of open innovation and absorptive capacity (AC). The former is progressing to emerging economic contexts and the second, contributing a new way of understanding AC by investigating its spatial dimensions, in addition to the skills and competencies dimensions.