International Strategic Alliances

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of an empirical investigation of strategic alliance agreements between UK firms and their European, Japanese and US partners. The aim of this paper is to shed some light on the international strategic alliance activity of UK firms and ascertain the objectives and motives of international strategic alliances. In addition, the perceived performance of the strategic alliance is considered together with the perceived level of satisfaction of a range of alliance activities. The findings should prove to be a useful guideline for researchers and practitioners engaged in understanding international strategic alliances. The analysis should allow managers to examine the important issues in the formation of international strategic alliances and allow them to understand the assessment of performance and satisfaction of the alliances formed.

Key Results: The findings have shown a definite pattern in UK international strategic alliance activity. The results of the study indicate that the majority of UK firms engage in international partnerships for marketing-related activities and are essentially driven by the financial cost and risk of entering a foreign market; access to overseas market and improving market share. The findings have also indicated that the majority of UK managers are satisfied with the overall performance of the international strategic alliance.     

Exploring Green Brand Associations through a Network Analysis Approach

In compliance with society's growing concern for the environment, an increasing number of enterprises are willing to act in socially responsible and environmentally conscious ways. Green‐related issues for enterprises have been an important academic research topic for at least three decades; however, few studies have focused on green brand associations. Based on the associative network perspective, the authors attempt to explore green brand associations through a network analysis approach. By combining network analysis with the qualitative elicitation method, the authors utilize commonly used measures of network analysis (i.e., centrality and cohesion measures) to reveal the content and structure of associative networks for green brands; next, they demonstrate empirical support for the findings. The results contribute to providing brand researchers with different analytical perspectives on the existing knowledge about green brand associations and offering strategic information for green brand practitioners.     

Airline Codeshare Alliances

The paper juxtaposes the challenges that airline codeshare alliances create for analytical information systems on the one hand and their motivation from a marketing perspective on the other. The authors review the state-of-the-art literature on potential marketing benefits and analyze the impact on airline planning systems. In this regard, revenue management systems are of particular interest. Based on a simulation study, the authors infer a severe impact of decentralized codeshare controls as currently widely implemented in the industry on revenue management performance. In the scenarios examined, complementary codesharing reduces alliance-wide revenues by up to 1 %. Losses increase when a carrier experiences high local demand or a high degree of codeshare demand, and disseminate over the whole network. Virtual codeshares also cause losses of 0.3 % to 1.5 % depending on the discount level offered by the marketing carrier and on the demand structure. Finally, the authors formulate a set of managerial implications based on these findings.     

Global Strategic Alliances:

No abstract available for this article.     

Strategic Positioning of Alliances

In this paper we use a simple linear demand structure to analyze firms’ and alliances’ strategic positioning with regard to cost reduction and product differentiation. In particular, we compare investment decisions under competition and in alliances and analyze comparative static properties concerning changes in market size. In contrast to Porter (1980 Porter, M.E. 1980. Competitive Strategy, New York: The Free Press. [Crossref] [Google Scholar]), this model explicitly allows firms to allocate their budget between the two strategies. The analysis reveals that the optimal allocation of resources for strategic positioning changes markedly when a firm enters an alliance: the general investment level decreases with a shift towards more cost reduction and less product differentiation. Another finding is that alliances (as well as independent firms) in larger markets invest more in both strategies and investment is driven towards product differentiation. These results are in line with Klepper’s (1996 Klepper, S. 1996. Entry, exit, and innovation over the product life cycle. American Economic Review, 86(3): 562–83.  [Google Scholar]) findings as they show that the attractiveness of following cost leadership or differentiation strategies changes through industry evolution.     

在企业战略联盟中建立信任

在当今国际竞争背景下 ,战略联盟已经触及到了联盟参与者的核心竞争优势 ,随之而来的是公司与企业文化的深层次变化。企业联盟的成功涉及许多因素 ,信任是其中最重要的因素之一。所以在联盟的企业之间如何建立信任关系 ,如何在战略联盟中有效实施在管理者控制范围之内的信任管理机制尤为重要。     

Global versus Local Strategic Alliances

The authors present a framework within which to decide when a firm should choose a single global strategic alliance partner, when regional alliances are more appropriate, and when it should use multiple local partners. Strategic factors proposed as determining this choice refer to: (1)economies of scale; (2)competitive pressure; (3)market and environmental certainty; and (4)global coordination. Operational considerations that constrain the choice involve: (1)market restrictions; (2)resource availability; (3)fiduciary risk; and (4)adaptation needs. These two sets of factors interact to suggest the appropriate geographical scope of strategic alliances. Two case examples are evaluated within this framework; one dealing with a global strategic alliance, the other with local strategic alliances.     

论中国企业战略联盟的发展

战略联盟是指两个或两个以上的企业间或特定事业与职能部门间,为了实现共同目标和各公司的战略目标,通过公司协议或联合组织等方式结成在一起的网络式的经营联合体。战略联盟作为企业一种新的战略方式其形成既有来自企业外部的原因,也有来自企业内部的原因。我国企业应大胆选择战略联盟这种战略,弄清建立战略联盟应着重考虑的问题,以便成功地建立战略联盟,提高我国企业的国际竞争力。     

Alliances,Acquisitions and Multinational Advantage

This paper reviews recent empirical evidence to assess the implications of alliance formation and increasing merger and acquisition activity of multinationals in the context of the eclectic paradigm. Specifically, the paper will concentrate on the performance implications of international expansion via alliances and mergers, and their relationship to the so-called asset-augmenting foreign direct investment. It has been argued in the literature that the way in which multinationals are able to build on their existing advantages and to add to them by virtue of their international activities confers specific benefits to multinationality. We argue that the growth of cross-border acquisitions and alliances as modalities for international expansion has resulted from the continuing convergence of value-adding capabilities within the Triad, and while such activity can help to augment the asset base of the investing firms, it also has potentially anti-competitive implications.     

Marketing Cooperation in Automotive Strategic Alliances

ABSTRACT

The increasing numbers of strategic alliances formed in many industries have been noted and discussed since the 1980s. This paper describes and analyzes change and stability in the patterns of cooperation that occurred within the global automotive industry during the period 1991–1995, with a particular focus on marketing and distribution cooperation. The geographical reach of marketing alliances is analyzed. The scope of the cooperation that occurs within inter-company alliances with marketing contents is also discussed, and the effect of participation in marketing alliances on individual actors is addressed. Using structural network methods, two measures of centrality are used and compared in order to determine the most central actors. The consequences of maintaining positions with different degrees of centrality in the alliance networks are discussed. The use of longitudinal data allows for analyses of the dynamic, changing nature of marketing alliances in the broader context of other forms of cooperation.     

Lufthansa Alliances in China and Asia-Pacific

One of the pillars of Lufthansa's corporate strategy is to build on its leadership position in the rapidly growing aviation market between Europe and Asiapacific in cooperation with its strong partners.     

供应链战略联盟问题研究

文章首先介绍了供应链战略联盟的内涵和特点,然后介绍了供应链战略联盟存在的问题,最后提出了构筑供应链战略联盟的一些有效措施。     

Horizontal Strategic Alliances and Company Behavior

Abstract

Despite the growing interest over the last ten years in strategic alliances as a source of competitive advantage, such initiatives have often been affected by different sorts of problems during implementation. This paper examines the categories into which such problems can be classified-environmental problems, structural problems, and problems with management attitudes and expectations-and discusses their effect on two cases of horizontal strategic alliances in Brazil.

A pesar del creciente intérs en los últimos diez años con respecto a la utilización de alianzas estratégicas como una fuente para generar ventajas competitivas, estas iniciativas han sido frecuentemente afectadas ppor diferentes tipos de problemas en su fase de implementación. Este artículo examina las categorías en que estos problemas pueden ser clasificados-problemas ambientales, problemas estructurales y problemas inherentes a las actitudes y expectativas de la administración-y discute sus efectos en dos casos de alianzas horizontales en Brasil.

Apesar do crescente interesse a respeito de alianças estratégicas como uma fonte de vantagem competitiva durante os últimos dez anos, essas iniciativas tem sido freqüentemente afetadas por toda a sorte de problemas durante a implementação. Esse trabalho examina as categoriasnas quais esses problemas podem ser classificados-problemas ambientais, problemas estruturais e problemas com as atitudes e as expectativas dos gestores-e discute os seus efeitos sobre dois casos de aliança estratégica horizontal no Brasil.     

产业集聚与供应链联盟的比较研究

产业集聚是区域经济发展中较具竞争力的组织形式 ,供应链联盟是企业应对激烈竞争而产生纳新的经营模式 ,对产业集聚与供应链联盟两种战略进行比较分析 ,并着重研究二者融合发展如何提升区域经济的国际竞争力     

企业战略联盟与中国产业组织优化

企业战略联盟作为一种新型企业组织形式 ,能够促进我国企业的专业化分工与协作 ,抑制市场过度竞争 ,弥补企业兼并缺陷等。现阶段 ,应通过企业制度改革、企业组织结构调整和完善企业联盟内部运作机制等 ,促进我国企业战略联盟的发展。     

企业战略联盟的组织形态演进

长期以来,战略联盟一直是战略管理中倍受关注的焦点。从两条主线追溯了战略联盟组织形态的演进路径———其中一条是战略联盟的组织形态特征,另外一条则是企业联盟的战略涵义。分析战略联盟组织形态演进过程中的共同特征,对我国企业的发展和竞争具有一定的现实意义。     

供应链联盟的形式比较及博弈分析

企业的供应链并不是相对独立的,在合作竞争逐步演变成为主流竞争方式的特定背景条件下,以资源共享、要素互补、网络协同为特征的供应链联盟已成为企业供应链竞争的必然选择。基于此,从串行联盟与并行联盟、同位联盟与错位联盟的角度来剖析供应链联盟的典型形式,比较不同联盟形式的差异性,从中看出不同供应链联盟形式都存在着一定的风险。供应链联盟的静态博弈模型,可以体现出供应链联盟的存在条件。     

Information Sharing in Global Supply Chain Alliances

The post–WWII economic expansion of economies such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and more recently China and India was enabled to a significant degree by the increasingly complex, global supply chain networks of large Original Equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the United States, European Union, and Japan. By linking buyers and suppliers across countries and industries, supply chain management (SCM) practices have a large impact on the economic fortunes of companies and countries throughout the world. Nowhere has the effect of this mutual interdependence been felt more strongly than between the U.S. companies and the Asia-Pacific market. Although the benefits of SCM are well documented, some evidence suggests that the reality of SCM implementation can create additional pressures for suppliers. We identify key problem areas experienced by suppliers and their link to the type of information shared by buying firms. The problem area experienced by most suppliers relates to issues of dependence in the alliance. Mere information sharing is insufficient for a successful alliance, and more information can be associated with a number of problems. For example, lack of information sharing can be associated with a supplier's perception of the buyer expecting excessive support. However, greater information sharing can be associated with a supplier's perception of the buyer passing on an excessive burden. Sharing of financial information is perceived as intrusive and controlling. These apparent contradictions uncover the complexity of the supply chain alliance. The moderating factors appear to be open communication and joint sharing of problem solving procedures—factors identified by suppliers that define a world-class buyer.