Strategic alliances between firms allow for the transfer of many valuable resources, including various types of knowledge. Most analyses of interorganizational relations, however, discount the importance of power in influencing firm learning. I introduce the concept organizational dependence, which affects both partner selection opportunities and the governance of agreements, thus serving as an antecedent condition to knowledge acquisition.

Drawing on sociological social exchange theory, I specify a measure of organizational dependence based on the power a particular firm wields relative to other firms in an industry. To illustrate the relationship between organizational dependence and knowledge acquisition, I draw on examples from the biopharmaceutical industry, where the resource preferences of firms and the motivations for alliance formation are clearly delineated.