Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business research faculty member Professor Shavin Malhotra has co-authored a paper accepted to the Journal of Management, one of the Financial Times (FT) Top 50 journals.
The paper, titled “Risk Sharing in Government Contracting: Strategic Alliances as Safeguards in Government Supplier Relationships,” explores how firms that rely on U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) contracts manage the unique risks of doing business with powerful government buyers.
Academic contribution
The study extends alliance and resource dependence theory by showing that, unlike traditional business-to-business (B2B) partnerships, alliances in business-to-government (B2G) contexts are formed not to guard against partner opportunism but to mitigate external risks such as political scrutiny, regulatory burdens, and demand uncertainty.
Using data from 339 publicly traded U.S. defense contractors (2001–2019), the authors demonstrate that firms with higher government contract exposure are more likely to form alliances with other contractors to share these risks. The research reframes how scholars understand interorganizational relationships in state-dominated markets and broadens the application of resource-based theory to public-sector contexts.
Practical insights
For managers and entrepreneurs, the study underscores the strategic value of collaboration when operating in heavily regulated or high-risk environments. Forming alliances can enhance resilience, build political and technical capacity, and improve market performance.
The findings highlight that partnership strategies, when structured thoughtfully, can serve as powerful safeguards in navigating complex procurement systems and managing dependence on dominant clients like governments.