While previous research emphasizes resource complementarities within alliance portfolios, the role of direct collaboration between partners controlling complementary resources remains less explored. This study investigates how direct collaborative ties among alliance partners enhance a firm’s ability to extract value from alliances in the autonomous driving industry. The findings indicate that direct collaboration between partners is beneficial when they specialize in interdependent knowledge domains, enabling the firm to access integrated knowledge, which is essential for developing technological solutions to complex problems and allowing a firm to address challenges more effectively by leveraging the combined expertise of its partners. This study contributes to the literature on alliance portfolio management by highlighting how the alignment of “knowledge networks” with an alliance portfolio structure enhances a firm’s innovative performance.
