International Innovation Alliances: A Case Study of the Influence of Proximity in the Aviation Sector

Access to external sources of knowledge is a critical factor for the development of innovation and the absence of proximity between partners, which goes beyond the geographical aspect – being cognitive, social, organizational or institutional, can influence results. Despite this understanding, there is a lack of studies assessing the relationship between proximity and type of innovation. This study intended to discover what type of proximity compensates geographical distance for different innovation results in international alliances. Based on comparative case studies of international innovation alliances in the aviation sector, the results indicate that for exploration innovation, cognitive and institutional proximity stood out, and for exploitation innovation, cognitive and organizational proximity was highlighted. Based on these combinations, a series of proposals are made at the end of the study. It can be concluded that the success of alliances does not depend on developing all dimensions of proximity.