The Use of Strategic Business Alliances by Canadian Companies in Asia Pacific

This paper presents the results of a survey on the use of strategic business alliances by Canadian companies in 12 coun- tries in the Asia Pacific region. Based upon the type of agreements thcy have entered into, Uieir contributions to the alliances and their motives. it is clear that Canadian SBAs in Asia Pacific are market ~ ~ oriented and are produclion-marketing alliances, and not alliances of cornnlementarv industrial ca~abilities. Also. the survev reveals that theyho not agiee entircly wih some of the propositiois on the objectives and benefits of Lhe use of strategic business alliances put forward by business academicians.     

Strategic alliances and the rate of new product development: An empirical study of entrepreneurial biotechnology firms

A key to success in industries populated by entrepreneurial high-technology firms is the rate at which the firm develops new products. Rapid product development creates significant advantages for entrepreneurial firms, including access to early cash flows, external visibility, legitimacy, and early market share. The higher a firm's rate of new product development, the more likely the firm is to achieve and maintain these first-mover advantages. This is particularly true in industries such as pharmaceuticals, where the effectiveness of patent protections leads to patent races in which a “winner take all” scenario exists. But even in industries where patent protection is weak, the advantages of being first, in terms of market preemption, reputation effects, experience curve effects, etc., can still be of major importance. We argue that one way an entrepreneurial firm can increase its rate of new product development is by entering into strategic alliances with firms that possess complementary assets.The basic proposition advanced is that a firm's rate of new product development is a positive function of the number of strategic alliances that it has entered. However, the relationship between strategic alliances and the rate of new product development may be nonlinear. Specifically, although strategic alliances may initially have positive effects on the rate of new product development, this relationship may exhibit diminishing returns. Moreover, past some point it is possible that negative returns may set in. Thus, the relationship between the number of alliances and the rate of new product development may be an inverted U-shape.Two reasons can be given to support such a relationship. First, not all alliances will make an equal contribution to increasing the rate of new product development. The economic “law” of diminishing returns suggests that the more alliances a firm engages in, the more likely it is to enter some alliances whose marginal contribution is relatively minor. Such a phenomenon on its own is enough to suggest diminishing returns.Second, gaining access to complementary assets through strategic alliances is not without risks. Malperformance may occur when the firm discovers that the complementary assets provided by the partner are a poor match, fail to live up to the promises made by the partner, or a partner may opportunistically exploit an alliance, expropriating the firm's know-how while providing little in return. These problems arise because the effectiveness with which the firm can select and manage alliance partners is likely to be negatively related to the number of alliances the firm is managing. Due to information processing requirements, the quality of partner search and the ability to monitor the partners' actions will decline as the firm increases the number of alliances in which it is involved. This reasoning leads to a prediction that past some point, alliances will be increasingly vulnerable to malperformance. This raises not only the possibility of diminishing returns to the number of alliances, but also negative returns as the number of alliances increases past some critical point.This proposed relationship between alliances and new product development was tested on a sample of 132 biotechnology firms. The results provide strong evidence to support the inverted U-shaped relationship between the number of strategic alliances and the rate of new product development. Therefore, at low levels strategic alliances are positively related to new product development, but as the number of alliances increases, the benefits begin to decrease, and at high levels the costs of an additional alliance actually outweigh the benefits.     

Knowledge sharing in China–UK higher education alliances

Knowledge sharing through cross-border strategic alliances has been seen by firms as one of the critical strategies to pursue sustainable competitive advantage. However, empirical investigations on how knowledge sharing occurs in strategic alliances are limited and are rarely concerned with strategic alliances in the higher education industry. Based on an empirical investigation of China–UK educational alliances, this research sheds light on this under explored area. Findings reveal that the scale of academic and organizational knowledge sharing is affected by knowledge attributes and partner characteristics. While knowledge sharing in China–UK higher education alliances displays numerous similarities with that occurring in other industries, this study reveals features that are distinct to this important and increasingly international sector. In so doing, this paper offers valuable insights for managers and policy makers concerned with the internationalization of higher education.     

跨国公司策略性联盟对我国技术进步影响的实证分析

文章从技术垄断和技术扩散两个角度考察了1985-2003年跨国公司策略性联盟对我国技术进步的影响。实证结果表明,国内研发和策略性联盟产生的研发溢出对我国技术水平的提高具有显著的促进效应,而策略性联盟产生的技术垄断则阻碍了我国的技术进步,但这种作用并不显著。因此,我国应采取加大研发投入、加强与跨国公司的合作以及与之建立纵向的策略性联盟等措施,以有效地利用跨国公司策略性联盟来促进我国的技术进步和经济增长。     

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.     

Exploration and exploitation fit and performance in international strategic alliances

Exploration and exploitation constitute two separate, potentially conflicting strategic choices for firms engaged in international strategic alliances. Our empirical study challenges the ambidexterity argument and demonstrates that exploration and exploitation are separate (though not necessarily antithetical) strategies with different antecedents and performance consequences.Our results show that while competency similarity is conducive to upstream innovative performance, prior experience with the partner is potentially damaging for this type of performance and trust and cultural distance do not play significant roles. When the motive is efficiency and downstream market performance, prior experience with the partner instead is beneficial, as are high levels of trust and low levels of cultural distance. These findings have key implications for literature on strategic fit and alliance performance.     

Dancing with Wolves: How Disadvantaged Firms Fare in Asymmetric Alliances in China

This study examines how dependence asymmetry and joint dependence affect the performance of less-powerful organizations in alliances in China’s emerging market. Based on a sample of 1,127 strategic alliances between Chinese publicly listed firms, the authors found that, unlike the conventional wisdom that the dependence-advantageous firms are typically the winners in western economies, the dependence-disadvantageous firms actually benefit from asymmetric alliances in China’s sociocultural and business environment. This positive impact is further channeled by high joint dependence. In addition, partnering with firms in unrelated business areas is beneficial for the disadvantaged organizations. This research extends the interdependence mechanisms to a different sociocultural context and contributes to the literature by examining it as a condition for value creation versus value appropriation     

Strategic alliances by financial services firms

We examine a sample of strategic alliances made by financial services firms during 1986 to 2003. The market reacts positively to the announcements of alliances and seems to incorporate the information about the value of alliances at the time of alliance announcements. We find no evidence of abnormal stock performance after announcements. Our results also suggest that strategic alliances usually are used as a final form of cooperation rather than as a first step towards closer cooperation between firms. For instance, only about 5% of alliances are followed with joint ventures or mergers of partner firms. Nevertheless, strategic alliance firms are more likely to form joint ventures or merge than randomly selected and matched firms. Furthermore, the market reacts more favorably to the alliance announcements by firms that are subsequently acquired by the alliance partners.     

The strategic stages of China–UK educational alliances: an empirical study

Driven by globalization, strategic alliances have emerged in a wide range of industries; higher education is not excluded, although we still lack sufficient understanding of this emerging field. By empirically investigating 10 China–UK educational alliances, this paper reveals the specific characteristics and different conditions that prevail in strategies in educational alliances. In particular it identifies the choice of forms of educational alliances in the formation stage, localization of the alliances in the operation stage, and the direction of development in the evolution stage. Hence, it hopes to enrich existing theories and provide some clear insights of the attitudes and actions that need to be taken by practitioners for them to succeed.     

Coping with national health insurance: Strategic behaviours of Taiwan’s hospitals

The primary goals of this study are to profile the strategic behaviours of Taiwan’s hospitals under the National Health Insurance programme, identify the related factors for such behaviours, and assess the influences of hospitals’ strategic behaviours on their performance. Findings indicate that the most prevalent strategy adopted by hospitals is strategic alliance. The results demonstrate that hospital level is a predictor of strategies employed by hospitals. Furthermore, findings also reveal that although the most embraced strategy by hospitals is strategic alliance, hospital executives perceive that the strategies of focus and differentiation are the ones that exert significantly positive influences on hospital performance.     

推进武汉产学研战略联盟的思考

产学研战略联盟是提升自主创新能力的重要途径,推进产学研战略联盟已经成为中国实践可持续发展战略和科教兴国战略的自觉选择,分析了武汉产学研战略联盟的发展现状及其制约因素,提出了推进武汉产学研战略联盟的几点建议。     

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。     

基于供应链战略联盟的竞争优势研究

在阐述供应链与供应链战略联盟内涵的基础上,以SWOT战略理论为分析框架来研究供应链战略联盟形成的原因,并从低成本竞争优势与差异化竞争优势两方面对供应链战略联盟所创造的竞争优势进行深入研究。     

An assessment of Colombian managers' perceptions of international strategic alliances

This article reports the results of a survey of Colombian managers concerning their perceptions of strategic alliances with foreign firms. The survey focuses in particular on partner selection and the managerial expectations from such partnerships, as well as the potential difficulties involved in developing interfirm linkages. The survey of Colombian managers shows that international strategic alliances are considered a viable approach to building a competitive advantage, especially in domestic markets, either through acquiring Western technology or marketing know-how. However, the survey results also suggest that a number of obstacles need to be overcome. The important considerations in partner selection, competence building through strategic alliances, and dealing with potential problems in establishing interfirm partnerships are discussed. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

中小企业形成竞争性非互补战略联盟的动因分析

阐述了我国中小企业所处的经营环境和所面临的发展困境。提出了一种新型的战略联盟形式,即竞争性非互补战略联盟。并从企业所处环境的外在压力和内在需求,全面剖析了中小企业形成这种联盟的动因。这个问题的研究对于我国目前存在的大量同质化恶性竞争行业的可持续发展具有重要的指导意义,并为我国中小企业摆脱目前的发展困境,寻求新的发展道路提供借鉴。     

Strategic alliances by venture capital backed firms: an empirical examination

A growing body of literature examines the formation of strategic alliances as an important value-added role provided by venture capital firms. This paper contributes to this literature by examining two related questions: whether venture capital firms use strategic alliances as a substitute or compliment to capital infusion, and how venture capital firms use alliances to mitigate different types of risk. Results from 2505 venture-backed startups reveal that venture capital firms treat alliance formation as a substitute for capital infusion and that the breadth of the network of syndication partners investing in the startup increases the number of its strategic alliances. We also find intentionality in alliance formation. Specifically, firms operating in industry environments characterized by technical risk are more likely to form alliances with partners capable of mitigating technical risks, and firms operating in environments characterized by market risk are more likely to form alliances with partners capable of mitigating market risk. Our findings lend additional support to the perspective that alliances represent an important mechanism through which venture capital firms add value to their portfolio companies.     

旅游联盟成功运作关键影响因素研究

近年来,在国际工商企业、旅游企业战略联盟浪潮的影响下,我国旅游企业也纷纷组建战略联盟,并取得了一定的经济效益。通过对旅游企业战略联盟(以下简称旅游联盟)的相关文献和实践进行全面梳理与分析,对影响我国旅游联盟成功运作的关键因素及其重要程度进行实证研究,使之明确了旅游联盟成功运作的关键因素。     

Governance and Performance of Strategic Alliances in Africa: The Role of Institutions

ABSTRACT

This article seeks to contribute to the institutional perspective of the governance of strategic intercompany alliances in Africa, through examination and analysis of a typology of informal African institutions. We support the view that interactions in African institutions determine the pertinent choice of governance mechanisms for intercompany alliances. In African institutional environments, the success of strategic alliances is subject to differentiated interactions among the contract, institutional confidence, interpersonal confidence and inter-organizational confidence. In the area of strategic management, this article provides theoretical and managerial contributions to our understanding of the institutional approach to the governance of strategic business alliances in Africa.     

关于我国家电企业国际战略联盟的探讨

国际战略联盟日益成为跨国企业提升国际竞争力的工具。本文旨在回顾我国家电企业国际化历程,探讨家电企业国际化的方式,并在比较分析各种方式利弊的基础上,引入战略联盟的概念。结合家电企业的国际战略联盟实践,对我国家电企业实施国际战略联盟的开发和管理提出有价值的建议。