Corporate Alliances Research Articles

Corporate Reporting of Cross-Sector Alliances: The Portfolio of NGO Partners Communicated on Corporate Websites

Nongovernmental organization (NGO)–corporate alliances are a strategic type of institutional positioning communication. From a sample of 155 US Fortune 500 corporations and 695 NGOs drawn from corporations' websites, this research examines: (a) the number of NGOs with which corporations communicate alliances; (b) the patterns of communicated alliances that exist between corporations in economic industries and NGOs in social issue industries; and (c) the relationship between corporate stakeholders and the communication of alliances with NGOs in particular social issues. This research tests the propositions of Symbiotic Sustainability Model concerning the number and type of NGO alliances likely to be communicated by corporations. In particular, this research demonstrates that most corporations only communicate alliances with a few NGOs and with one NGO in an issue industry. In addition, the results suggest that corporations in the same economic industry are likely to communicate alliances with different NGOs in the same issue industries. In combination, these findings imply that a small set of social issues are likely to be included in NGO–corporate communication. Exploring this implication, this research reports preliminary findings about communicated alliances between corporations in 11 economic industries and NGOs in 59 social issue industries.

Democracy, Institutionalization, and Corporate Alliances

The authors bring together and extend three strands of existing research: the propensity of democracies to ally with each other, the effects of alliances being institutionalized, and the causal impact of democracy in promoting investment. This literature is applied to corporate alliances, predicting the probability that announced alliance contracts will be completed by the participants. The authors find that democratic political regimes generate rules that create corporate shareholder democracy and that the latter promotes the institutionalization of corporate alliances. Corporate democracy and alliance institutionalization will both, controlling for transaction costs, increase the probability that corporate alliances will be completed. The findings suggest a positive association among democratic corporate governance, the willingness of corporate alliance partners to accept institutionalized ties, and the creation of an environment conducive to commercial investment commitments through alliances. Overall, corporations appear to respond to some of the same alliance incentives as sovereign states.

원격검침을 위한 다기능 자바카드 설계 및 구현

원격지에 있는 전기, 가스, 수도 등의 검침기에서 유선 또는 무선으로 검침을 자동화하는 원격검침(AMR)에는 전력선통신 방식, 근거리무선통신 방식 등이 주로 연구되어 왔다. 본 논문에서는 유비쿼터스시대의 필수 품목이 펠 자바카드를 활용하여 원격검침을 수행할 수 있는 원격검침자바카드(JCA: Java Card for AMR)를 설계 구현하였다. 본 논문의 원격검침자바카드(JCA)는 전력공급사에서 제공하는 표준 거래 절차를 준수하고 전력사용로그 및 정산 자료를 관리하며 다기능 신용카드(EMV) 기능이 충족되도록 설계되었다. 원격검침자바카드(JCA)는 오픈 플랫폼(open platform)의 다기능 스마트카드로 응용 애플릿의 후발급이 가능하므로 신용카드나 교통카드 기능과 함께 다른 제휴사의 응용을 탑재할 수 있다. 원격검침자바카드(JCA)는 다른 원격검침방식과 비교하여 원격검침 시스템 구축비용이 적을 뿐만 아니라 자바차드의 인증과 보안을 활용하여 선불 및 후불 정산 방식이 가능하고 제휴 사와의 연계 서비스로 다양한 부가서비스를 제공할 수 있다. AMR(Automatic Meter Reading), which means that it reads the meter of electricity, gas, or water, etc at a remote place automatically through wired or wireless communication, has been studied in terms of Power Line Communication method and Local Area Wireless Communication method, etc. In this paper, we designed and implemented JCA(Java Card for AMR) capable of AMR, which is based on java Card technology indispensable to the ubiquitous world. In this paper, JCA follows standard transactional procedures offered by power supply company and manages power usage log and billing data, and is designed in order to satisfy EMV multi-functional specifications. Because JCA is a multi-functional smart card capable of post-issuance applets as an open platform, it is installed into other applications of affiliated concerns as well as credit card and traffic card applications. Not only the proposed JCA is a low cost system, compared to other AMR systems, but is capable of paying rates in advance or later by applying authentication and security function of java Card. In addition the proposed JCA system can create value added services such as affiliated services with corporate alliance.

U21 Global: The In/Corporation Of Higher Education

This article addresses problems behind the growing commercialization of higher education, taking the example of U21 Global—a corporate alliance through which a consortium of universities delivers online degrees for profit. I look specifically at the decision made by the University of British Columbia (UBC) to join U21 Global and argue two things: first, contrary to claims made by supporters of U21 Global, the agreement won’t improve the university’s ability to play a vital role in the online market for higher education. Second, and more importantly, such commercial partnership invariably lead to a further erosion of institutional autonomy and public accountability in the process.

Fit between corporate strategy and alliance purpose: implications on partnering firms' performance

The fit between corporate strategy and alliance purpose is examined in this paper. While early research on alliances recognises various alliance purposes, their role in facilitating corporate strategy implementation is not delineated in the literature. Identifying two alliance purpose dimensions – impetus and context – we develop a framework to organise the different classes of alliance purposes. We argue that since alliances are moves to pursue corporate strategies, selecting alliance purposes to align with specific corporate strategies would increase the performance of partnering firms by facilitating successful strategy implementation.

Corporate Alliances, Resource Reallocation, and the Propagation of Merger Activity

We model an economy of inter-firm alliances, and we show that such alliances are a channel for merger propagation. We confirm the model's main prediction in data, where the likelihood that a firm is involved in MA (ii) merger propagation also depends on indirect alliance-network connections; (iii) partner mergers also lead to a higher likelihood of entering into new alliances.

Product Launch and the Strategies, Processes, and Operations of Medical Affairs to Support Start-Up Companies

For a launch of the first product by a start-up company, the medical affairs (MA) team plays both strategic and operational roles. Launch presents a brand-new and urgent situation at a company with limited experiences, staff, and budget. A structured set of processes for analysis, planning, implementation, and follow-up are cited to assist a start-up in this new endeavor. This article discusses the why, what, how, when, and by or for whom questions a new MA department must consider in the launch phase. External audiences for the company and MA include investigators and customers (providers and institutions). At a start-up company, the research and marketing divisions, the internal customers of MA, need bridging for optimal periapproval strategy. A strategy and plan for MA are required to be integrated with corporate, product, and research strategies. Many options for MA exist and will depend on existing people (experiences and biases), corporate and product strategies, budget, systems availability, and target audiences. Priorities need to be set among the many possible programs, such as phase 4 trials, medical information, publication strategy, formularies, thought-leader development, and adverse experience reporting. Another strategic question is whether to outsource, use corporate staff, or develop corporate alliances to fulfill the responsibilities. Phase 4 research is discussed as a capstone to integrate all the aforementioned issues.

The market impact of corporate alliance announcements: value-weighted versus equally weighted portfolio returns

Several recent studies document significant share returns at the time when strategic alliances are announced to the stock market. However, the earlier evidence is focused on equally weighted portfolio returns and/or individual partner returns. A value-weighted portfolio approach is used here to demonstrate that the overall market impact of alliance disclosures is limited, reflecting the fact that the large returns tend to be concentrated in the smaller partner.

The issue of asymmetrical growth in Specialised Biotechnology Firms in the USA and the UK

There are over 5000 Specialised Biotechnology Firms (SBFs) in the world, out of which at least 1500 are in the USA, 400 in Canada, and a similar number in the UK. Within this group of SBFs rapid growth is concentrated in some 10% of the firms. This paper compares the growth patterns of SBFs in the USA and the UK, and with the previous results for Canada. These three countries represent nearly 50% of SBFs in the world. By combining several different databases, the paper reveals the determining factors of SBF growth in the two leading countries. Using correlation and logistic regressions for each country, we found that five factors (patents, the targeting of human health products and processes, the support of venture capital, R&D and marketing corporate alliances, and the search for world markets) explain most of the growth of these firms.

Language ideologies and the production of identities: Spanish as a resource for participation in a multilingual marketplace

As technological advances, trade initiatives, and the formation of political and corporate alliances contribute to the spread of globalization, language has become not only a marker of national or ethnic identity but also a form of economic and social capital (Heller 1999). Within the United States, this shift is being felt at some of the nation's most prestigious universities as an increasingly pragmatic student body clamors for courses in languages-other-than-English in an effort to accumulate the linguistic resources necessary for participation in a multilingual marketplace. This paper examines how language ideologies might function to construct expertise in Spanish as a resource for the professional advancement of middle-and upper-middle class foreign language learners, while simultaneously casting it as a detriment to the social mobility of heritage language users (i. e., U. S. Latinos). In so doing, it describes how ideologies of Spanish as a foreign language get produced, circulated, and appropriated in the day-to-day workings of a Spanish language program at a prestigious U. S. university to support and foster this asymmetry. Weaving together both diachronic and synchronic approaches to research on language ideologies, it investigates how foreign language learners draw on certain ideologies to construct themselves as competent and legitimate users of Spanish, despite gaps in their linguistic repertoires and limited membership in Spanish-speaking communities of practice.

Generative model for feedback networks

We propose a model for network formation and study some of its statistical properties. The motivation for the model comes from the growth of several kinds of real networks (i.e., kinship and trading networks, networks of corporate alliances, networks of autocatalytic chemical reactions). These networks grow either by establishing closer connections by adding links in the existing network or by adding new nodes. A node in these networks lacks the information of the entire network. In order to establish a closer connection to other nodes it starts a search in the neighboring part of the network and waits for a possible feedback from a distant node that received the "searching signal." Our model imitates this behavior by growing the network via the addition of a link that creates a cycle in the network or via the addition of a new node with a link to the network. The forming of a cycle creates feedback between the two ending nodes. After choosing a starting node, a search is made for another node at a suitable distance; if such a node is found, a link is established between this and the starting node, otherwise (such a node cannot be found) a new node is added and is linked to the starting node. We simulate this algorithm and find that we cannot reject the hypothesis that the empirical degree distribution is a q-exponential function, which has been used to model long-range processes in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics.

Oregovomab

ViRexx Medical Corp is developing the murine monoclonal antibody oregovomab [OvaRex, MAb B43.13] for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Oregovomab targets the circulating tumour-associated antigen CA 125, which is shed from the surface of human ovarian cancer cells; the antibodies induce broad cellular and humoral immune responses against CA 125 via complex formation. Unlike free CA 125, CA 125-oregovomab complexes can prime dendritic cells, leading to downstream activation of T cells. The antibody is undergoing advanced clinical development. AltaRex, the originator of oregovomab, was acquired by, and merged into, ViRexx Medical Corp in December 2004. AltaRex (now ViRexx Medical Corp) has established several strategic corporate alliances for the development and/or commercialisation of oregovomab. Unither Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of United Therapeutics Corporation, entered into a licensing agreement with ViRexx in April 2002. The agreement covers most territories worldwide, except Europe and the Middle East, which are covered by other agreements (see below); ViRexx did retain the rights to most member nations of the EU and certain other countries. In August 2003, the agreement was extended, granting United Therapeutics Corporation development rights for Germany. AltaRex and Dompe entered into a distribution agreement for oregovomab in July 2004. Territories included in the agreement are Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria and certain other Eastern European countries. Under the terms of the agreement, ViRexx retains responsibility for product development and registration of the antibody, upon commercialisation in the agreed territory. The two companies will work closely to achieve product registration throughout Europe. In June 2001, Dompe entered into a sublicensing agreement with FAES for the commercialisation of oregovomab in Spain and Portugal. ViRexx is also seeking collaboration partners for Northern European markets. Medison Pharma and AltaRex entered into an agreement in April 2002. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will establish a joint venture to market oregovomab in Israel and the Middle East. ViRexx also has an agreement with Genesis Pharma covering the commercialisation of the antibody in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and the Balkans. Unither Pharmaceuticals has completed trial enrollment for its two pivotal phase III trials investigating oregovomab for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer. In June 2006, Unither reached its enrollment goal of 177 patients for the IMPACT II study, the second of two identical double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. The IMPACT I study achieved its enrollment target in December 2005. Both IMPACT studies are designed to assess the effect of oregovomab on time to disease relapse in patients with advanced ovarian cancer (stage III/IV) who have achieved an optimal response with front-line chemotherapy, and are being conducted at over 60 sites across the US. Data from the studies are intended to support registration of the antibody in the US. ViRexx also plans to utilise results from the IMPACT studies to support regulatory filings in Europe and in other countries. In addition, a phase II trial is being conducted to evaluate two dosing regimens of adjunctive oregovomab plus platinum-based first-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. The enrollment target of 40 patients has been achieved; primary study analysis is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2006. Several phase II trials with oregovomab as monotherapy or in combination with other chemotherapeutics have been completed across the US and Canada. Clinical trials have also been conducted in the EU, but ViRexx has suspended such EU studies on the basis of commercial considerations. Oregovomab has orphan drug status for the treatment of ovarian cancer; designation was granted by the US and the EU in 1996 and 2002, respectively. In addition, the US FDA granted fast-track status to the antibody in 1998. AltaRex (now ViRexx Medical Corp) has been awarded the US patent covering the company's technology for administering a low dose of foreign antibody to patients expressing the CA 125 antigen. A second US patent has also been issued for oregovomab covering the technique of photoactivation using ultraviolet light to modify antibodies and enhance specific beneficial immune responses. Furthermore, AltaRex was granted a 'multi-epitopic' patent application covering oregovomab by the European Patent Office (EPO) in October 2003. The patent covers the company's technology of IV administration of a low-dose foreign antibody, such as oregovomab, to patients expressing the target tumour-associated antigen CA 125. The EPO's grant of the patent for the European Union enables intellectual property protection of oregovomab in the great majority of worldwide markets.

Cause Marketing Alliances

The author used pizza brands to examine the nature of corporate and non-profit alliances and their impact on trust in the pizza company, brand equity, perceptions of product quality, consumer behavioral intentions towards the pizza brand, evaluations of cause importance and behavioral intentions towards the cause. Pizza brands with strong reputations and pizza brands with weak reputations were paired with popular or not so popular causes. The greatest increases in consumer trust in the pizza company, brand equity, behavioral intentions towards the brand, and perceptions of product quality were realized for the company with the weak reputation, regardless of the popularity of the cause it adopted. The most promising changes for a non-profit occurred when a not so popular cause was teamed with a corporation possessing a strong reputation.

Knowledge sharing in inter-organisational intelligence: R&D-based venture alliance community cases in Japan

It is important for corporate alliances not only to make up for lack of resources but also to share knowledge among members effectively. Based on previous studies by Nonaka (1990) and Matsuda (1990), we develop the concept of intelligence, to analyse the knowledge-sharing mechanism in an alliance community. Through some case studies and the results of questionnaires, this paper shows that inter-organisational intelligence is different from the individual organisational intelligence in creating business planning capability, which is related to the success of alliances. The paper also shows that inter-organisational intelligence is formed through two steps.

Strategic alliance: synergies and challenges

The number of strategic alliances has almost doubled in the past ten years and is expected to increase even more in the future. More than 20,000 corporate alliances have been formed world‐wide over the past two years, and the number of alliances in the USA has grown by 25 percent each year since 1987. Outsourcing is a form of strategic alliance which is attractive for many organizations, but it is not simple or easy to create, develop, and support. There are many implementation problems and the failure rate is projected to be as high as 70 percent. In this paper a case study methodology is employed and the chosen case is outsourcing. Our case study shows that the development of a long‐term strategic outsourcing relationship requires moral, ethical standards, trust and a willingness not to try to exploit the new relationship at the expense of long‐term cooperation. The paper concludes that a strategic outsourcing relationship needs a specific management strategy and that companies should also pay more attention to the burdens embedded within it.

Relational Quality: Managing Trust in Corporate Alliances

Management scholars have often argued that plays a key role in economic exchanges, particularly when one or another party is subject to the risk of opportunistic behavior and incomplete monitoring or when problems due to moral hazard or asymmetric information arise. These conditions are almost always present in the case of corporate alliances and joint ventures. However, one attribute of relationships—relational quality—is fundamental to the maintenance of good working conditions in two-party alliances where past experience and the shadow of the future play important roles. Relying on a growing body of theory and a number of case studies, the authors develop a framework for thinking about trust in dynamic and practical terms. They also provide recommendations for managing relational quality in alliances as a strategy for enhancing value.

Globalisation in the defence industry: An exploration of the paradigm for us and European defence firms and the implications for being global players

This paper explores some of the key issues associated with the restructuring of the defence industry. A comparison is made between the US and the European Defence Industrial Bases in terms of the drivers for change and the paradigms within which change has taken place. Having shown that some very important differences exist, the paper then explores the approaches that have been adopted for industry consolidation and references them to the academic literature on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and strategic alliances (SAs). Given that most of the key defence players recognise the need to be global players, the paper presents an argument that the European firms’ experience of operating with a wide range of forms of corporate alliance will serve them in good stead for operating on a global defence scale. US firms, in contrast, have focused largely on M&A activity.

Interdependencies, trust and information in relationships, alliances and networks

The last decade has been characterised by the increased development of cross-company relationships, alliances and more complex business networks. This paper examines fundamental concepts that relate to the needs for information, including accounting information, in these interactive structures. It considers, initially, some consequences for accounting when planning and control is to be exercised across organisational boundaries, but the main thrust of the paper is to focus on the fact that all relationships depend to some extent on trust. The interaction between trust and information in personal relationships is explored to serve as a template against which to consider whether the information needs of inter-organisational relationships are similar. Having examined information needs of business relationships in general, the analysis is developed to consider the needs of different forms of corporate alliances and then wider business networks. This paper is an attempt to create a debate on new questions that seem to be fundamental to the design of information and accounting systems. It is not claimed to have provided definitive answers, but it is proposed that the lack of a well-developed theory of the interaction between trust and information has been a fundamental gap in our knowledge.

Marketing Alliances Between Non-Profits and Businesses: Changing the Public's Attitudes and Intentions Towards the Cause

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent corporate and non-profit alliances can impact the public's attitudes and intentions to support a cause. Through the use of experimental design four types of alliances were examined: (1) low affinity cause aligned with company with strong reputation, (2) low affinity cause aligned with company with weak reputation, (3) high affinity cause aligned with company with strong reputation, and (4) high affinity cause aligned with company with weak reputation. Results of paired sample t-tests indicated significant changes for only one type of alliance, that which is between a low affinity cause and a corporate sponsor with a strong reputation. The low affinity cause experienced increased: (a) customer trust in the non-profit, (b) intentions to support the cause, (c) evaluations of cause importance, (d) personal feelings of responsibility to help the cause, and (e) evaluations of consequences for society through providing support. For the remaining three types of alliances changes were not significant.

Valuing corporate knowledge and intangible assets: some general principles

This paper provides a general set of principles, organized into a usable framework, for the valuation of intangible assets as well as corporate knowledge, in the act of transferring, sharing, selling, or licensing it from one company to another. It provides benchmarks for valuation to both seller and acquirer, to licensor and licensee, and to both partners in a corporate alliance. Part I of the paper classifies the nature and attributes of different kinds of corporate knowledge. Part II focuses on the valuation framework. Intangible assets, whether registered intellectual property such as brands, patents, copyrights, or whether they be ‘knowhow’, or general corporate expertise, are increasingly separable from their organizational context, and can be sold or shared with another firm—for compensation. As such activity increases—as part of a general trend towards outsourcing and modularization of business functions, aided by codification of previously tacit or intuitive knowledge—placing a money value on a ‘knowledge package’ is a crucial managerial function. Many of the principles presented in this paper can also be used when the same firm makes its own investments in other markets, by transferring corporate knowledge to its own subsidiary. The various benchmarks and criteria found in the literature are here, for the first time, presented in a comprehensive valuation framework, eminently usable by managers and negotiators. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.