The Role of Strategic Alliances in Inter-organizational Learning in International Business

Abstract

The paper studies strategic alliances and their role in inter-organizational learning in international firms. The importance of strategic alliances in global economy has increased. Strategic drivers for interfirm cooperation between alliance partners are market growth, cost reduction, reducing risk, and access to knowledge. The author focuses on inter-organizational interaction among alliance partners, which is motivated by the desire to gain access to new knowledge and transfer existing knowledge between partners. Alliances are a powerful means of enhancing organizational learning and knowledge-based capability. The challenges of integrating knowledge intensive activities in international strategic alliances are also discussed. Integrating those activities between international firms is more difficult due to alliance partners’ differences in national, organizational, and professional culture. International strategic alliances are critically important to firm success by facilitating knowledge integration.