Influences of university-industry alliance portfolio depth and breadth on growth of new technology-based firms: Evidence from China

In emerging economies, new technology-based firms (NTBFs) often engage in multiple alliances with universities and research institutes simultaneously to access external knowledge and resources crucial for their survival and growth, thus forming university-industry alliance portfolios (UIAPs). However, little scholarly attention has been paid to this phenomenon. Using panel data of 549 firm-year observations from 149 manufacturing NTBFs listed on Chinese Growth Enterprises Market (GEM) Board, we develop a set of multi-level fixed-effect liner regression models to investigate effects of UIAP relational-dimension configurations on NTBF growth along with the moderating effects of government subsidies. Results reveal negative effects of UIAP depth on firm growth and positive impacts of UIAP breadth on firm growth. Furthermore, results show that government subsidies weaken the negative relationship between UIAP depth and NTBF growth, along with the positive relationship between UIAP breadth and NTBF growth. Contributing to previous research on alliance portfolios, university-industry collaborations, and firm growth, this study provides some practical implications for both industry practitioners and policymakers in emerging economies.