Alliance Strategy Research Articles

“ФАКТОР ТРАМПА” И МЕНЯЮЩИЙСЯ ОБЛИК ГЛОБАЛИЗАЦИИ

Rapid ascent of Donald Trump to the top of the American power pyramid seriously alarmed business and political establishments in most states of Europe, Latin America and other regions. The explanation is obvious: in the course of the election campaign and after the election, the new American leader made a lot of hard and uncompromising statements, and then, having settled down in the White House, took a number of concrete steps against trade, economic and sociopolitical interests of a series of countries. In essence, Washington’ actions pour oil on the flame of global instability and uncertainty, and can complicate the process of overcoming problems of the entire world community in time of crisis, generated by both internal causes of individual countries and international effects. The central question of the future global order is which policies will become the world center of gravity: formation of a cooperation strategy of integration, alliances and multilateral agreements, or a course on isolationism and protectionism, financial-economic pressure, “cold” trade and currency wars. Taking the path of frankly revisionist style policies, Donald Trump showed himself an opponent to the global economic agenda that had seemed unshakable and indicated the direction of further movement for the entire international community until recently. Contrary to what was argued by numerous experts and politicians, President Trump does not believe the United States is the main beneficiary of globalization, which Washington himself imposed on the rest of the world some time ago. The American President regards other countries as winners in an all-out international competition: China, Germany, Mexico, etc. The U.S. are by no means on the top of this list, and Trump intends to change the status quo and implement a geo-economical script appropriate to his views of the world. “The Trump Factor” becomes the key element in the process of transformation of the prevailing globalization image.&nbsp

Open innovation between energy companies in developed and developing countries: resource-based and knowledge-based perspectives

This paper presents proposals for improving and accelerating research and development processes through open innovation based on contractual project-based alliances between energy companies in developed and developing countries. The present study adopted an inductive approach, employing archival studies and a literature review to develop a model for research and development (R&D) contractual project-based alliances to be investigated in future research. This model was an attempt to collaborate between the phases of alliance strategy activities and the phases of R&D activities applied in contractual project-based activities. The present study distinguished three phases of open innovation: the pre-project phase of partner selection, the project phase of innovation, and the post-project phase of commercialisation. This model incorporated a knowledge management perspective focusing on intangible factors and a resource-based view focusing on tangible factors.

Open innovation between energy companies in developed and developing countries: resource-based and knowledge-based perspectives

This paper presents proposals for improving and accelerating research and development processes through open innovation based on contractual project-based alliances between energy companies in developed and developing countries. The present study adopted an inductive approach, employing archival studies and a literature review to develop a model for research and development (R&D) contractual project-based alliances to be investigated in future research. This model was an attempt to collaborate between the phases of alliance strategy activities and the phases of R&D activities applied in contractual project-based activities. The present study distinguished three phases of open innovation: the pre-project phase of partner selection, the project phase of innovation, and the post-project phase of commercialisation. This model incorporated a knowledge management perspective focusing on intangible factors and a resource-based view focusing on tangible factors.

Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) Investments and Technological Performance: Geographic Diversity and the Interplay with Technology Alliances

Firms are increasingly operating portfolios of geographically dispersed CVC investments for accessing a variety of location-specific knowledge, often alongside traditional external knowledge-sourcing strategies such as technology alliances. We examine the conditions under which geographic diversity in corporate venture capital (CVC) investments has positive consequences for firms’ technological performance in the context of simultaneously pursued technology alliance strategies. We find that geographic diversity in CVC portfolios enhances performance as long as firms avoid knowledge redundancy in knowledge-sourcing arising from geographic overlaps with technology alliances, and the managerial complexity, coordination costs, and resource constraints stemming from the simultaneous pursuit of diversity in both technology alliances and CVC investments. Our inferences draw on a panel data set on the patents, CVC investments, and technology alliances of 55 CVC-active firms in a variety of industries.

Shifting Alliances in International Organizations: A social networks analysis of co-sponsorship of UN GA resolutions, 1976-2012

While general belief is that the military alliances are stable and rigid, the authors argue that the states are far more flexible in their behavior and often act against their alliances. This paper looks at states' behavior in the UN GA and looks how it is reflected in participation in military alliances during three periods of history since 1976 to this day. The authors illustrate the need to consider the network representation of co-sponsoring groups in General Assembly votes. They find significant support for their argument, indicating that social aspects can be extended beyond alliances. An application of social network analysis shows some unexpected affiliations in UN GA. If the UN GA is the "true" nature of these countries' alliance strategies, then it might suggest some significant defections and interesting association.

Da Formentini a Sala

The article retraces the last 20 years of direct mayoral election in Milan. It shows how the changes in institutional and electoral settings influenced both the party system and the voters' electoral responses. The first part of the article retraces the strategies of alliances and the choice of candidates made by the main coalitions. The second part estimates the flows of votes using the Goodman model. In order to quantify the mobility of Milanese electorate a typology of voters is proposed (stable, converted, absent, etc.). The third part analyses some indexes to assess the degree of bipolarism, fragmentation and personalisation of the city party system. In a context more and more volatile and tripolar, Milan is now one of the more bipolar city in Italy.

Exploring Product Fit And Brand Fit In Brand Alliances: Establishing The Role Of Categorization Processes

The marketing strategy of brand alliance has received considerable attention in marketing literature. A significant factor in the study of how consumers process brand alliances is the concept of “fit”. Specifically, it has been shown that consumers evaluate the extent to which the brands and products in a brand alliance are congruent. While the concept of fit has been addressed in brand alliance research, little is known about what fit really is. This paper seeks to establish the processes by which consumers make evaluations of both product and brand fit. Based on a review of the relevant literature, it is proposed that consumers use higher-order categorization processes in evaluating brand alliances. A 2 x 2 experiment was conducted to test multiple hypotheses. Results confirm these hypotheses and confirm that consumers do indeed conduct a higher-order category search as they evaluate brand alliances. Based on this work, an entire field of research can now be applied to the study of this promotional strategy. While various studies in the recent past have examined factors affecting the processing of brand alliances, there remains a great deal to be learned about how brand alliance information is processed and what factors affect both cognitive and evaluative outcomes. Applications of categorization theories open new avenues in the study of this area of consumer research.

Risks in the formation of collaboration alliance of the redistribution natural rental income

Researched and identified risks for the formation of collaboration alliance between the state, regions and extractive enterprises in the redistribution of natural resource rents. Focused attention on the negative consequences of reconciling the interests of the participants of collaboration alliance to form a risk minimization strategy and implementation collaboration alliances mechanism. Keywords: collaboration risks, social responsibility, rental income, natural resource rents. JEL Classification: M1

RELATIONAL EXCHANGE AND PARTNERSHIPS: THE IPANEMA COFFEE CASE

The case studied, Ipanema coffee, illustrates how market demand for high quality product conducted the company to build longterm relationship with its suppliers, the farmers, in order to guarantee access to high value consumer international markets. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with the major company shareholder and also with the marketing director along with desk research for the coffee sector panorama. The long term contract appeared as a prosperous alliance strategy in the measure that a) reduces the risk related to the coffee quality attributes, b) creates a competitive advantage though the appropriability of specific assets related to the coffee growing and processing, c) permits the creation of a brand name capital. The relational exchange has been successful once it allowed the firm to export 1 million bags for 25 countries. On the other hand, as expected in partnerships, the other party, the farmers, has incentives to continue the relationship, once it permits: a) international market access, b) premium prices, c) risk minimization with hedge operation, and d) no investment in coffee processing structure.

Nuclear weapons, the United States and alliances in Europe and Asia: Toward an institutional perspective

ABSTRACTAmerica’s alliances in Europe and East Asia all involve some institutional cooperation on U.S. nuclear weapons policy, planning or employment—from consultative fora in Asia to joint policy and sharing of nuclear warheads in NATO. Such cooperation is often analyzed through the prism of “extended nuclear deterrence,” which focuses on the extension of U.S. security guarantees and their effect on potential adversaries. This article argues that this underplays the importance of institutional factors: Allies have historically addressed a range of objectives through such cooperation, which has helped to catalyze agreements about broader alliance strategy. The varied form such cooperation takes in different alliances also flows from the respective bargaining power of allies and the relative importance of consensus, rather than perceived threats. The article concludes that nuclear weapons cooperation will remain crucial in successful U.S. alliance management, as allies negotiate their relationship with each other in the face of geostrategic change.

A Study on the Moderating Effect on Cultural Difference of Knowledge Transfer and Alliance Strategy

The purpose of this study is to analyze the moderating effect of cultural diversity on knowledge transfer and alliance strategy. To analyze this objective, which do international business and have partnership were surveyed. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of national cultural dimension and type of alliance orientation (scanning alliance, utilization alliance) on alliance performance of knowledge transfer. To analyze this objective, we conducted a survey in target companies which signed partnership and international business. This study reviews various literatures and developed a research model. To examine the research model, we collected data from international companies with partnerships. The study results showed that the national cultural factor significantly affects the alliance types and firm’s performance. It can provide a very meaningful implication where companies decide on alliance strategies by considering cultural environments in overseas countries in order to achieve better performance of knowledge transfer. Moreover, it can provide a very meaningful implication where international firms achieve better performance identifying the core competencies between cultural characteristics and alliance type on suitable for the partnership.

Learning to collaborate through collaboration: How allying with expert firms influences collaborative innovation within novice firms

Research summary: Strategic alliances have been recognized as a means for firms to learn their partners' proprietary knowledge; such alliances are also valuable opportunities for partner firms to learn tacit organizational routines from their counterparts. We consider how relatively novice technology firms can learn intraorganizational collaborative routines from more experienced alliance partners and then deploy them independently for their own innovative pursuits. We examine the alliance relationships between Eli Lilly & Co. (Lilly), a recognized expert in collaborative innovation, and 55 small biotech partner firms. Using three levels of analysis (firm, patent, and inventor dyad), we find that greater social interaction between the partner firm and Lilly subsequently increases internal collaboration among the partner firm's inventors.Managerial summary: Can collaborating externally advance internal collaboration? Yes. Our research found that collaboration among scientists at small, early‐stage biotechnology firms significantly increased after these firms formed highly interactive R&D alliances with a large pharmaceutical company known for its expertise in such collaboration. It is well known that alliances help new firms learn specific new technologies and commercialize innovations. Our study broadens the scope of potential benefits of alliances. New firms can also learn collaboration techniques, deploying them internally to enhance their own abilities in collaborative innovation. Managers should take this additional benefit into consideration in developing their alliance strategies. Pursuing alliance partners with expertise in collaboration and keeping a high level of mutual interactions with partner firm personnel should be important considerations to extract this value. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEGISLATION ON ORGANIZED CRIME AND DRUGS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EGYPTIAN SOCIETY

Organized crime and illicit drug trafficking have become a direct threat to the state system. They have weakened and destroyed economic and social institutions. Political and economic changes have contributed to the increase in transnational criminal organizations, especially in the context of economic globalization and great revolution in communications and transportation as well as practicing organized crime. Hence, the term transnational organized crime has been launched and has led to emergence of serious criminal organizations at the international level which rely on the system and strategy of alliances to dominate countries, making it one of the biggest challenges, whether developed or developing. The aim of the study is to develop legislation related to organized crime and narcotics to limit its impact on the Egyptian society, by exposing the nature of the drug problem, defining the concept of legislation and organizing crime, identifying shortages in order to find out the most important modifications that can be added and identifying scientific vision round most important rules of modification in order to cut the spread of drugs, and their implications. The study focused on subjects work at drugs’ control. It consists of three hundred individuals divided as follows: (100) one hundred members of the judiciary and the Public Prosecution, and (100) one hundred police officers involved in law enforcement and combating organized crime and drugs, and (100) one hundred members of customs and borders areas as in ports and airports. The study is based on the descriptive approach that is considered as one of the most appropriate scientific curricula for the nature of the study, its objectives and its inquiries. The study used social survey for the sample whom concerned with applying and enforcing the law through questionnaires and codified interviews, in order to obtain data that can be analyzed, interpreted and distributed to answer the questions of the study and achieve its objectives.

Competition of tolerant strategies in the spatial public goods game

Tolerance implies enduring trying circumstances with a fair and objective attitude. To determine whether evolutionary advantages might be stemming from diverse levels of tolerance in a population, we study a spatial public goods game, where in addition to cooperators, defectors, and loners, tolerant players are also present. Depending on the number of defectors within a group, a tolerant player can either cooperate in or abstain from a particular instance of the game. We show that the diversity of tolerance can give rise to synergistic effects, wherein players with a different threshold in terms of the tolerated number of defectors in a group compete most effectively against defection and default abstinence. Such synergistic associations can stabilise states of full cooperation where otherwise defection would dominate. We observe complex pattern formation that gives rise to an intricate phase diagram, where invisible yet stable strategy alliances require outmost care lest they are overlooked. Our results highlight the delicate importance of diversity and tolerance for the provisioning of public goods, and they reveal fascinating subtleties of the spatiotemporal dynamics that is due to the competition of subsystem solutions in structured populations.

A Linear Programming with Alliance Strategy Coverage in Wireless Sensor Networks

How to schedule multiple sensing units of a sensor to cover multiple targets becomes a new challenging problem. This problem is formulated as an integer linear programming problem for maximizing the network lifetime. We propose a novel energy-efficient target coverage algorithm to solve this problem based on clustering architecture. First of all, the network probability model is established and the subordinate relation between sensor nodes and the target nodes is presented. Secondly, a series of probability is computed and the related theorems and reasoning are also proven. Thirdly, effective coverage for the monitoring region is achieved through scheduling mechanism of nodes themselves, thus the purpose of increasing network lifetime can be realized. Finally, experimental results show that the proposed algorithm could achieve complete coverage for networks of different scale, and increase the network lifetime. It possesses the good quality of effectiveness and stability.

Case B (Sequel) – GMR: deciding future alliance strategy for airports

Subject area General management/strategy. Case overview Case B: On April 4, 2013, the meeting of GMR’s Group Executive Council (GEC) was scheduled to take place. Srinivas Bommidala, G.M. Rao’s son-in-law and Chairman of GMR’s airports business, was gearing up for the meeting. The meeting was called to discuss a proposal for bidding for an upcoming airport project in the Philippines. It had been more than a decade since GMR entered the airport infrastructure sector. The organization had built substantial airport operating expertise during that period. It adopted a joint venture (JV) model for expanding into the airport infrastructure business. Until now the organization had always formed JVs for all its airport projects. JVs, with existing airport operators, were necessitated by the bid conditions that required a certain minimum airport operating experience for qualifying as a bidder for various projects. In some cases, JV with a local player helped GMR with market knowledge for functioning in a foreign market. GMR also used JVs to access the capabilities it lacked for operating in this sector and gradually learnt from its partners for building capabilities in-house. The group now had the required operating expertise in the sector to qualify as a bidder. One of the key issues the GEC was contemplating was: Whether GMR should continue to form JV for bidding for the upcoming project or should it go solo? Further, if it had to form a JV then, in which areas should it seek a partner? Expected learning outcomes Case B: To help students understand how companies use alliances as growth strategies; to understand the rationale for formation of various alliances; to explore various factors managers consider when deciding on alliance strategy of an organization; to understand the challenges associated with using alliances as a strategic option; and to understand the pros and cons of internal development (i.e. going solo) vis-à-vis strategic alliances. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

Case A- GMR: diversifying for growth Case B (Sequel) – GMR: deciding future alliance strategy for airports

Subject area General Management/Strategy. Study level/applicability Post-graduate/MBA. Case overview Case A: Mr Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao, founding chairman of GMR, was considering a proposal to bid for an upcoming international airport in Hyderabad, India. The strategic move would have marked GMR’s foray into the Indian airport infrastructure sector. GMR had been involved in the development and operation of power plants and had thrived on public–private partnerships for all its projects. Mr Rao is thinking: Should GMR make another major investment in infrastructure development by bidding to build the airport in Hyderabad, India? Further, how should the organization prepare itself for this strategic move? Case B: On April 4, 2013, the meeting of GMR’s Group Executive Council (GEC) was scheduled to take place. Srinivivas Bommidala, G.M. Rao’s son-in-law and Chairman of GMR’s airports business, was gearing up for the meeting. The meeting was called to discuss a proposal for bidding for an upcoming airport project in the Philippines. It had been more than a decade since GMR entered the airport infrastructure sector. The organization had built substantial airport operating expertise during that period. It adopted a joint venture (JV) model for expanding in the airport infrastructure business. Until now, the organization had always formed JVs for all its airport projects. JVs with existing airport operators were necessitated by the bid conditions that required a certain minimum airport operating experience for qualifying as a bidder for various projects. In some cases, a JV with a local player helped GMR with market knowledge for functioning in a foreign market. GMR also used JVs to access the capabilities it lacked for operating in this sector and gradually learnt from its partners for building capabilities in-house. The group now had the required operating expertise in the sector to qualify as a bidder. One of the key issues the GEC was contemplating was: Whether GMR should continue to form JV for bidding for the upcoming project or should it go solo? Further, if it had to form a JV then, in which areas should it seek a partner? Expected learning outcomes Case A: To understand the relationship between key concepts in strategic management, including diversification, capabilities and core competence. To help students understand the various factors managers consider when deciding on the diversification strategy of an organization. To create an understanding of the organizational processes required to facilitate diversification into a new segment. To teach students how to evaluate a potential market opportunity that may require a firm to take on a diversification strategy. Case B: To help students understand how companies use alliances as growth strategies. To understand the rationale for formation of various alliances. To explore various factors managers consider when deciding on alliance strategy of an organization. To understand the challenges associated with using alliances as a strategic option. To understand the pros and cons of internal development (i.e. going solo) vis-à-vis strategic alliances. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

Resource ambidexterity through alliance portfolios and firm performance

Research summary: Partner resources can be an important alternative to internal firm resources for attaining dual and seemingly incompatible strategic objectives. We extend arguments about managing conflicting objectives typically made at the firm level to the level of a firm's alliance portfolio. Specifically, will a balance between revenue enhancement and cost reduction attained collectively through partner resources accessed via a firm's various alliances be similarly beneficial for firm performance? Additionally, how do strategic attributes of alliance portfolio configuration, specifically alliance portfolio size and partner resource scope, condition the balance‐performance relationship? Based on data from the global airline industry, we find support for the balance‐performance relationship, though such balance is less beneficial for firms in the case of access to a broader resource scope per partner.Managerial summary: Increasing revenue and reducing costs simultaneously can potentially enhance firm competitiveness. We highlight that an alliance strategy can be an important alternative to internal resources for attaining such dual strategic objectives, particularly when partner resources accessed through alliances are treated collectively as portfolios. We examine the importance of balancing product‐market extending and efficiency‐improving partner resources in the global airline industry as well as the impact of two alternate strategies for accessing resources through alliances: fewer partners with more resources per partner or more partners with fewer resources per partner. We find that resource balance at the portfolio level helps airlines improve performance. Our results also suggest that managers should be cautious of accessing too many resources through just a few partners. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

CASMOC: a novel complex alliance strategy with multi-objective optimization of coverage in wireless sensor networks

Coverage is a significant performance indicator of wireless sensor networks. Data redundancy in k-coverage raises a set of issues including network congestion, coverage reduction, energy inefficiency, among others. To address these issues, this paper proposes a novel algorithm called complex alliance strategy with multi-objective optimization of coverage (CASMOC) which could improve node coverage effectively. This paper also gives the proportional relationship of the energy conversion function between the working node and its neighbors, and applies this relationship in scheduling low energy mobile nodes, thus achieving energy balance of the whole network, and optimizing network resources. The extensive simulation results demonstrate that CASMOC could not only improve the quality of network coverage, but also mitigate rapid node energy consumption effectively, thereby extending the life cycle of the network significantly.

Alliance strategy in R&D contractual projects for the energy sector: perspective of the knowledge and resource-based views

This study developed a model for alliance strategy activities that will be implemented in research and development contractual projects between developed and developing country energy companies. This paper used quantitative research that included a survey of PERTAMINA, an Indonesian energy company. This alliance process model divided its activities into three phases: 1) the pre-project phase: the partner is selected based on knowledge factors, including their competences, capabilities, experience and expertise, in addition to resource factors, including their complementary assets, specific objectives, risk sharing and cost sharing; 2) the project phase: the innovation activities are performed, which involves a knowledge management system as a moderating component with factors, including a technology transfer process, technology support for knowledge management, knowledge sharing and absorptive capacity, and organisation structure factors, including team-building processes, partner roles, open communication, and decision-making processes; 3) the post-project phase: commercialised innovation, which is based on factors including knowledge, intellectual property rights (IPR), and innovativeness as a source of competitive advantage. The theoretical contributions of this study, due to the innovation process has a high uncertainty aspect, alliance in innovation activities are better conducted in contractual project form without entail the share of ownership.