Determinants of the international strategic alliance process and alliance failure: learning from the Volvo-Renault break-up

Abstract

While the scholarly focus has shifted from strategic alliance formation to alliance performance and thus alliance outcome, the process that leads to a particular outcome: alliance success or alliance failure remains indeterminate. Given their high failure rate, this study aims to identify factors that contribute to an alliance failure to better understand the strategic alliance management process to help alliances survive. Purposefully, the Volvo-Renault alliance break-up is investigated. A Process Model for International Strategic Alliance Lifecycle is developed. The findings establish that post-formation, the strategic alliance process necessitates managing interactions among: partners' objectives; partners' resource contribution; access to partner's network; and alliance performance. However, for an alliance to sustain, learning and assessment must be an integral part. Learning and assessment are critical strategic inputs that serve as 'binding forces', and as an 'alert mechanism' whereby timely corrective managerial actions are triggered in favour of an alliance sustainability and vice versa.