Alliance portfolios and firms’ business strategy: a content analysis approach

Abstract

Purpose– The purpose of this study is to understand in what way the business strategy of a firm operating on a global scale is linked to its alliance portfolio,from the product-market matrix of Ansoff (1957) and the resources-partners matrix of Yasuda and Iijima (2005).Design/methodology/approach– To meet this objective,the case study method was adopted,with data being obtained from interviews and documentary analysis of the selected firm/case: Borgstena Textile (BT).Findings– Based on a content analysis approach,it was possible to observe an alliance portfolio with advantages for BT and include those partnerships in the four quadrants referring to the nature of resources and partners defined by Yasuda and Iijima. In terms of growth strategy,BT simultaneously defined the typology of product-market strategies proposed by Ansoff,i.e. BT tries to use strategic alliances to execute specific business strategies.Practical implications– This research seeks to make a practical contribution,identifying the main association between the alliance portfolio and several specific firm strategies. This may allow better understanding of the composition of the alliance portfolio and,in this way,improve strategic management. This means that alliances should be managed as a whole and not in a dyadic way.Originality/value– This study is innovative because it seeks to make a contribution to the literature,from a theoretical perspective,by developing two matrixes by Ansoff (1957) and Yasuda and Iijima (2005). These frameworks allow us to analyze the relationship between alliance portfolio and business strategy.