Resources,.Strategic.Alliances,.and.Value.Networks

Resources have been considered in a range of different literatures, and they play a particularly
central role in the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and in the resource-dependence
literature. More recently, links have been established between the RBV literature and the role
of resources in strategic alliances (Erasmus, 2004; Das & Teng, 2000). We consult these to
arrive at a definition (classification scheme) of resources for our analysis of interdependencies
in value networks of mobile information and entertainment services.
The focus of the resource-based view (RBV) is the resources possessed by the firm. The
RBV stresses value maximisation through the integration of resources. Successful firms
are those firms that are able to acquire and maintain valuable idiosyncratic resources for
competitive advantages (Oliver, 1997).
The resource-based view has been applied mainly to the individual firm to analyse various
resources possessed by the firm but increasingly also in strategy research. Recently, the resource-
based view has also been linked to a network perspective, specifically by considering
the resource-based view in the context of strategic alliances (see, for example, a review of
studies by Das & Teng, 2000):

The application of the resource-based view to research on strategic alliances provides the
link with value network research in focus here. Strategic alliances can be regarded as a
category of inter-organisational relations and networks. The common premise is that it is
precisely the complementarity of resources that necessitates the formation and evolution
of both, strategic alliances and value networks, and that none of the actors can make all theA resource-based perspective of the actors therefore provides a relevant basis to examine
interdependence in the value network. From a resource-based perspective, paraphrasing
Das and Teng (1998) on strategic alliances, value networks are about combining resources
that an individual firm cannot provide all on its own, yet are critical for the provision of a
mobile service
necessary components available for product development or service provis