Individual vs Relational Capabilities: A still open issue

There is growing interest in the relationship between relational capabilities and the performance of inter-firm collaboration, giving for granted the choice of collaboration. While interesting, most of this prior work has examined the performance implications of relational capabilities independent of the other capabilities that firms bring to a relationship and to the whole set of capabilities managed by a firm. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of relational and non-relational capabilities on firm decisions to engage in inter-firm collaboration. This research question is examined in the context of collaborative relations in the tourist industry in Italy. Results suggest that decisions about collaboration depend not only on a firm’s relational capabilities, but also on the quality of its non-relational assets.