Better together? How evolution of co-branding alliance affects performance

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine role stress over the course of an alliance between supply chains. This study examines ambiguity as antecedent to multiple organisational outcomes. Design/methodology/approachThis study subsequently uses a time series design that uses a close replication of the authors' initial study. The design affords the opportunity to examine the dynamics associated with the evolution of the alliance. FindingsThis study recognises that the relationships developed by collaborating firms are enacted by downstream entrepreneurs in the supply chain, yet this observation is rarely incorporated into interfirm research. The authors illustrate that the alliances have a significant downstream influence on operations at the retail level. Research limitations/implicationsThis longitudinal research has the potential to reduce common method variance and enhance causal inference. The second limitation concerns the simultaneous collection of the predictor and criterion variables. The third limitation is the use of single informants as the primary vehicle for the analysis of the theoretical model when prior research indicates that multiple informants offer enhanced reliability and validity. Practical implicationsThe findings contribute to the management theory of business entrepreneurship and strategic alliances and research on supply chains. Originality/valueThis study underscores the need to examine alliances via time series. Research that attempts to generalise from data collected at a single point in time is unlikely to be able to capture the dynamics associated with the development of a joint venture and offers limited opportunity to make inferences about the causal order of relationships. The model based on longitudinal data reveals that the stage of an alliance influences the level of vertical control and ambiguity and the effect of control on role ambiguity.