International business strategy: international strategic alliances

Résumé du document

According to author Charles Hill's views on Global Business Today, "Collaboration between competitors is fashionable; recent decades have seen an explosion in the number of strategic alliances". Indeed, the global economic system is nowadays so complex and the competition is too strong that some companies cannot survive by acting independently despite offering many products and different choices on the global marketplace. In an environment that is constantly changing, elaborating strategic partnerships or alliances can be a really useful strategic decision. Strategic alliances are developing in many industries. We will discuss in which circumstances firms should elaborate strategic alliances in their international operations. We begin by defining strategic alliance in an international context, using different authors' views and opinions. Then, we will see in which circumstances firms should develop such alliances. We will also explain how to choose the right alliance and how to manage "winning" partnerships.

Extraits

[...] - Alliances between non-competing companies It is interesting to see how two completely different companies can get together to enlarge the scope of their active operations. To avoid competition: In some cases, markets are not large enough to hold numerous competitors. As a result, firms have the possibility to create strategic partnerships in order that they do not have to compete with one another. Problems with mergers/acquisitions: As we mentioned before, strategic alliances and mergers/acquisitions are different strategies. Dissatisfactions with mergers/acquisitions are numerous. [...]

[...] Furthermore, alliance can sometimes remain problematic for firms (high failure rates, disputes, disagreements So before elaborating any strategic partnership, firms should clearly know what their common objectives are, what will be the responsibility of each party and how they are going to manage their collaboration during all the alliance process. Reference list Harvard Business Review (1994) Global Strategies: Insights from the World's Leading Thinkers. U.S.A.: Harvard Business Scholl Press. J. E. Austin Harvard Business School (2000) The Collaboration Challenge How Nonprofits and Businesses Succeed Through Strategic Alliances. U.S.A.: Jossey-Basss Publishers. A. M. Rugman, R. M. Hodgetts (2003) International Business. 3rd ed. [...]

[...] To avoid such situation, we will explain how to elaborate “winning” alliances in the second part I. B. Types of Strategic Alliances In the book “Marketing Management”, the author Philip Kotler, p claims that most of strategic alliances actually take the form of “marketing alliances”: Four main categories are evoked: - Product / Services alliances: When a firm licenses another to manufacture its products, or when two firms jointly market their complementary products or a new product. - Logistic alliances: When one firm offers logistical services for another firm's product. [...]

[...] U.K.: Prentice Hall. P. Kotler (2003) Marketing Management. 11th ed. U.S.A.: Prentice Hall International Editions. F. McDonald, F. Burton (2002) International Business. U.K.: Thomson. M. R. Czinkota, I. A. Ronkainen, M. [...]

[...] We will actually “discuss in which circumstances firms should elaborate strategic alliances in their international operations”. First of all, we will precisely define strategic alliance in an international context, using different authors' views and opinions. Then, we will see in which circumstances firms should develop such alliances. We will also explain how to choose the right alliance and how to manage “winning” partnerships. I. Focusing on strategic alliances I. A. Definition of Strategic Alliances In their book “International Business”, p the authors A. M. Rugman and R. [...]