Management of international strategic business cooperation: Situational conditions,performance criteria,and success factors

In recent years, international strategic business cooperation has attracted great attention in both international management theory and practice. Several prominent examples demonstrate that interfirm alliances can no longer be viewed as second‐best solutions but must be recognized as efficient forms of internationalization. In this article, the specific management problems of international strategic business cooperation are analyzed and a systematic approach for their solution is presented. After outlining three examples that represent three different forms of international strategic business cooperation, a conceptual framework is developed that integrates three different perspectives: situational conditions, management instruments, and performance criteria. In the main part of the article, five success factors of international strategic business cooperation (partner selection, cooperation agreement, management structure, acculturation process, and knowledge management) are discussed. The article ends with a short summary and implications for further research. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.