Biological children vs. step children: The impact of parent support on spinoff success mechanisms

I examine how and why the spinoff success mechanisms, which trigger their sustainable comparative advantages, come into play. Using an inductive multiple case study on spinoff and non-spinoff suppliers of an automotive manufacturer parent in Turkey, I find that while transfer of blueprint and organizational learning sustain comparative advantages of spinoffs, unlike the dominant theories, informal relations do not provide an advantage in the long run. Informal relations stop providing easy access to parent's resources since the relationships between the progeny and the parent mature, and non-spinoffs can overcome their disadvantage by other means, like hiring parent's retirees. Cross-case analyses show that, as the volume of transaction with parent increases, non-spinoffs start acting like spinoffs (moderating effect of greater dependencies on parent as single/major customer).