Determinants of Capital Integration among Strategic Alliance Members in the Retail Sector: Evidence from Central and Southeast European Countries

Abstract

Survival of firms requires continuous search for new and a restructuring of the existing competitive advantages. These can come either from firms’ internal factors or from cooperation with the environment. Cooperation among firms commonly takes place through the formation of strategic alliances. However, such form of cooperation presents only one stage in the integration of business entities. In the long run, strategic alliances can cease to exist or transform into a higher form of association based on capital integration. The objective of this paper is to explore the determinants of capital integration among strategic alliance member firms in retail sectors of several Central and Southeast European countries. Overall, the obtained findings suggest that business entities engage in integration with the aim of reaching hidden knowledge and skills, accessing distribution and supply channels, and developing new products and services. Integration is also driven with the aim of risk diversification and possible better market positioning, achieving the economies of scale, and improving organization and marketing. The opportunistic behavior of partners and limited managerial control represent its strongest barriers.