A dynamic approach to the analysis of strategic alliances

The increasing trend in strategic alliance formation between major firms around the world, has prompted researchers from various disciplines to look at this phenomenon in great detail. In this paper, we review alternate approaches in the literature in this area. We then propose a non-linear dynamic approach to study the formation of competitive strategic alliances and contrast it with the traditional game-theoretic approach. The pros and cons of these two approaches are discussed with reference to a competitive alliance scenario. Dynamic models have significant managerial implications as they enable us to investigate ‘if-then’ type scenarios and project the impact of different strategies.     

国际战略联盟及其相关理论研究

就国际战略联盟的定义规范、与其他合作形式的区别及其相关的理论进行分析 ,指出多角度、跨学科地研究国际战略联盟是非常必要的。     

Business partnering—a driving force for innovation

Win-Win situations are used and also created by companies which cooperate with each other, complement each other on a synergy basis and work together fairly and competently. Today, business partnering has therefore become a key qualification for companies. This should not depend alone on the commitment of individual persons.This article describes how Siemens has organized its company, services and products using partnering solutions and how it has installed this concept as an intrinsically dynamic process. Thanks to institutionalized partnering, B2B interfaces have been established to form a rational alliance, offering benefits to all involved, and can be used regardless of the size of the company. These offerings generate Win-Win situations themselves—and provide individual employees in large companies with a structural framework for a personal partnering initiative.     

The trust-control nexus in public private partnership (PPP) contracts

This study examines the trust-control nexus in the context of public private partnership (PPP) contracts. It draws on the literature and the case of two UK school PPP contracts with varying degree of trust among the partners to illustrate the role of control in building competence trust and goodwill trust, and how trust in turn affects control. Prior to entering into the PPP contract, under a condition of high risk and low trust, reliance was placed on formal control to evaluate competence trust for the purpose of selecting a preferred bidder, whilst goodwill trust, which takes time to evolve, played no role in the selection process. During contract implementation, formal control formed the basis for demonstrating competence and nurturing goodwill trust. Trust subsequently determined the extent of reliance on formal control and informal control. In the case of School 1, high level of trust led to a reliance on informal control which enabled partners to focus resources on solving problems, whilst formal control operated in the background. In the case of School 2, low level of trust and perceived lack of transparency led to a demand for additional formal control. This study adds to the trust-control literature by shedding light on how trust relates to control, in the context of long-term PPP contracts which are difficult to specify in advance.     

A panel data analysis of code-sharing,antitrust immunity,and open skies treaties in international aviation markets

This paper estimates the effects of code-sharing, antitrust immunity, and Open Skies treaties on prices, output, and capacity using an eleven-year panel of U.S.-Europe data. Code-sharing and immunized alliances are found to have significantly lower prices than does traditional interline (multi-carrier) service, but the effects are smaller in magnitude than those found in previous results that rely on cross-sectional data. Statistical tests that prices for immunized alliance service are equal to online (single carrier) service often cannot be rejected, providing additional evidence that immunity grants allow immunized carriers to internalize a double marginalization problem. Estimated output effects, consistent with the price effects, show that alliances are associated with large increases in passenger volumes. Lastly, estimates suggest that capacity expansions associated with “Open Skies” treaties are due entirely to expansion by immunized carriers on routes between their hubs. I would like to thank the editor and an anonymous referee for their helpful comments. The views expressed in this paper do not reflect those of the US Department of Justice. All errors are my own     

Identifying intraorganisational and interorganisational alliance conflicts—A longitudinal study of an alliance pilot project in the high technology industry

The extant literature on alliances tends to neglect the effects of intraorganisational relationships within each alliance partner on the implementation of the alliance. To address this gap, this paper investigates both interorganisational and intraorganisational conflicts occurring during the implementation of a service alliance and aims at developing categories of conflicts as well as analysing how these conflict categories affect the implementation of the alliance. Thus, the overall purpose is to contribute to our understanding of implementation issues in alliances for the delivery of services. In order to do so, one case of a high-technology alliance has been studied longitudinally, with the researcher acting as a participant observer. Three interrelated categories of conflicts are developed through an analysis of the data: 1) the scope of the alliance, 2) the customer relationship, and 3) the implementation process. One important conclusion of this study is that the perspectives of several of the stakeholders, including the customers indirectly involved in the alliance, should be included when implementing service alliances.     

从经济全球化角度来看企业战略联盟

经济全球化趋势日渐明朗,在经济全球化大趋势下我国企业如何利用机遇发挥自身优势,通过企业战略联盟实现跨越发展,是当前学术界与企业共同关注的问题。本文阐述了经济全球化、战略联盟的涵义,分析了经济全球化为我国企业带来的重大机遇与挑战,并探讨了经济全球化对我国企业进行战略联盟的影响,最后提出我国企业在经济全球化环境下进行战略联盟实现快速发展的相关建议。     

高技术企业联盟所有权配置动态博弈与实证研究

高技术企业通过联盟可以获得技术诀窍,分享合作剩余,但所有权配置对联盟合作绩效产生重要影响。不完全合同框架下的动态博弈模型与实证分析表明,拥有控制权是企业披露诀窍的基本条件,企业的诀窍披露和努力投入决策会因所有权结构的不同发生改变,这对探索联盟科学治理途径,提高企业合作创新绩效具有重要启示和指导意义。     

Explaining alliance success: Competences, resources, relational factors, and resource-advantage theory

Business alliances, by filling critical resource gaps, enable firms to have positional advantages that lead to superior financial performance. Some alliances, however, are more successful than others. The three prominent theoretical approaches to explaining alliance success rely on resources, competences, and relational factors. The authors theorize that the three approaches are interdependent and, using resource-advantage (R-A) theory as a framework, develop an integrative model. This model proposes that the three approaches are linked by means of relationships among (1) alliance competence, (2) complementary resources, (3) idiosyncratic resources, and (4) cooperation. A test of the model, using a sample of alliance professionals, finds support for the theory that the three approaches are, indeed, interdependent and that resources, construed in the manner of R-A theory, influence alliance success through positional advantage.     

Communication channels,innovation tasks and NPD project outcomes in innovation-driven horizontal networks

Inter-organizational collaborations and horizontal networks are increasingly playing a pivotal role in innovations and new product development among firms. In this study, we investigate the link between the innovation task analyzability and the richness of communications channels used in network arrangements and the link between task analyzability and ties and project development time. We investigated the links based on the data collected from 372 respondents representing ninety three different innovation-driven horizontal networks. The results of structural equation modeling reveal a negative link from task analyzability to communication channel richness and a positive link from communication channel richness to ties. Communication channel richness was found to partially mediate the influence that task analyzability has on both NPD project outcomes of ties and development time. The implications of our results for theory and practice are discussed.