Long-term Alliances Research Articles

Local, regional and national experiences on bridging: US perspectives

Introduction: Bridge building work in the US is primarily local and voluntary, involving professionals at individual agencies and organizations (public and private) who work towards specific goals. However, federal mandates intended to reduce nursing home admissions and increase access to home and community based services through new model collaboration programs are hastening this work. Description of policy practice: Successful short-term ‘grassroots’ coalitions advocating for specific health insurance benefits and program funding for poor older adults and people with disabilities are common in all regions, but rarely build permanent bridges across networks. Voluntary cross-network collaborations, such as the Partners III program in Virginia (1993–1996), successfully established regionally specific long-term alliances. Nationally, the federal government is pilot testing 140 Ageing and Disability Resource Centres (ADRC’s) to facilitate permanent cross-network collaboration through coordination of consumer information and referrals across service systems. Financial and technical assistance is provided ADRC’s; interim results are positive. Conclusions: Sustainment of cross-network bridges is a priority. Discussion: Voluntary cross-network collaborations are difficult to sustain long-term and are dependent on interest, leadership, perceived professional need, and funding support. Federal intervention and commitment to bridge historical service network ‘silos’ may create institutional change that fosters greater cross-network collaboration.

Domestic Wastewater Management in a Rural Community in Colombia

This article describes a case study of a process of technology transfer for the collection, transportation, treatment, and final disposal of domestic wastewater in the rural community of La Florida, located near Pereira, Colombia. An unconventional wastewater-treatment system, consisting of a gritremoval chamber, three septic tanks, three up-flow anaerobic filters, and seven subsurface-flow constructed wetlands, was selected, designed, built, and implemented with the active participation of the community and local institutions. In order to do this, the knowledge dialogue model (KD) was used. The KD model was developed by the Research and Development Institute in Water Supply, Environmental Sanitation, and Water Resources Conservation (Cinara) of the Universidad del Valle in Colombia. Despite the participatory approach and the application of integrated water-resource-management principles, the unwillingness of the community and the participating institutions to establish a long-term alliance once the infrastructure was built affected the system’s sustainability. For similar initiatives to be successful, an institutional framework oriented toward sustainability must be in place as well as the political willingness to endorse these endeavors.

Youth in Urban governanace: Rationalities, Encounters and Interaction in Zimbabwe

The article critiques the role and position of the youth in urban governance in post-2000 Zimbabwe. Using cases from two urban centres, the analysis maps the contribution of young people to local governance and evaluates the impact of specific forms of governance on young people. The article observes that young people regard governance as a transient phenomenon, a site suitable for opportunistic forays. Their involvement in governance is short term and driven by strategic rationality. Consequently, young people assume different and sometimes contradictory roles. Young people in this context are manifestly averse to developing long-term alliances within their own ranks and with other social agents.

Iterated Cooperation and Possible Deviations between Liner Shipping Carriers Based on Noncooperative Game Theory

The top liner shipping carriers have already established alliances in the shipping industry and are investigating new business connections with customers, suppliers, competitors, consultants, and other companies. Several studies have attempted to explain this phenomenon using a variety of conceptual and theoretical frameworks. This paper focuses on liner shipping strategic alliances and their establishment and transformation within the framework of noncooperative game theory, which is considered an effective tool to analyze motivations, competitive structures, strategies, and potential payoffs in a number of industries, including the turbulent liner shipping industry. Not only can a liner shipping company be seen as a player in a shipping alliance, but a liner shipping strategic alliance itself can be viewed as a player when it competes with other alliances. In this paper, more attention is paid to the former situation by assuming that those liner companies are unable to make enforceable contracts through outside parties. This paper aims to (a) indicate the motivations for short-term cooperation among several liner carriers, (b) analyze the pros and cons of being a member of a liner shipping strategic alliance, (c) explain a player's deviation or departure behavior when it faces turbulence and unpredictable shipping circumstances, and (d) recommend ways to enhance long-term alliance stability by increasing benefits while decreasing drawbacks. Of those four main points, the differences between short-term cooperation and long-term alliance are the number of subgames and the potential future payoff. Specific models based on the assumption of noncooperative behavior are set up as iterated games to give those differences clear explanations. The outcome of this paper will be helpful for liner shipping carriers attempting to succeed in the shipping industry with greater efficiency, better customer service, and lower cost.

Shaping inter-firm collaboration in new product development in the automobile industry: A trade-off between a transaction and relational-based approach

Shaping collaboration in the new product development (NPD) has always been a very difficult task, especially in complex industries like the automobile one. This complexity is particularly true during the engineering phase of the NPD process, where different complex systems are to be designed in a collaborative way. Basically, two-kind of approaches have been observed in the literature and industry: one is more related to market transactions, specifically the west car-company style, the other is more relational based, as in the Japanese car-company style. Now, the increasing globalisation of the industry asks for a merge of the two approaches; indeed, the increasing use of standard components push towards a market outsourcing, while the need of product customisation and the increasing technology complexity push towards long-term alliances and partnerships; then, several companies face the problem of how designing good collaboration solutions in several phases of the NPD process. This paper offers a methodological solution to this problem by searching a trade-off between market and relational approaches and by offering to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) a decision support for shaping well fitting inter-firm relationship.

An Empirical Study in Subcontractor Selection and Long-Term Alliance Relationship between Main-Contractor and Subcontractor

This paper aims to identify the main contractors’ current practice in subcontractor selection and their perception towards the long-term alliance relationship with their subcontractors. Fifteen interviews were conducted with executives of eight main contracting firms in Australia. The research found that the subcontractors were chosen mainly through selective or open tendering using the criteria of “past performance, technical capability, reputation, financial stability, experience on similar work and lowest price”. With regard to long-term relationship, the research found the main motivation is “to achieve organisational competitive advantages”, and the key successful elements include “trusting behaviour, honesty, open communication and top management commitment”, while the proactive strategies to achieve the long-term relationship include “organise regular meetings, provide incentive financial scheme, maintain constant contacts, provide project programming ownership and provide structured and detail documentation”. It is concluded that, with the aim of enhancing organisational competitive advantage, while selective and open tendering are the main means for subcontractor selection, the main contractors understand the importance and key successful elements of long-term relationship with their subcontractors and they have adopted some strategies to develop and maintain the long-term relationships.

World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the response of vehicle manufacturers in China: a comparative study

This paper takes a snapshot view of managerial views in the Chinese automotive industry, one year after China joined the WTO. Two cases are used. One is a long established joint venture between Volkswagen and Shanghai Automotive (SAIC), the other a state-owned enterprise without the benefit of such a long-term alliance. Six hundred questionnaires were administered electronically, 349 were returned completed. The responses were broken down into pre-WTO, post-WTO and regulatory environment. The results show that competitive pressures have intensified since China joined the WTO. The automotive industry and firms within it are undergoing significant transformation in their strategies and managerial structures. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) face re-structuring burdens that are placing them in an uncompetitive situation unless they can get state aid and/or assistance from partners, as in an international joint venture (IJV).

Kinship as a basis for alliance formation between male bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in the Bahamas

Alliances between reproductive males have been described in both cetacean and terrestrial mammal societies, and kin selection theory has often been invoked to explain these stable male coalitions. However, recent studies of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops aduncus, in Australia suggest that mechanisms other than kinship are fundamental in the formation of male alliances. We supplemented skin biopsy sampling with the collection of faecal samples from individually recognized wild bottlenose dolphins, T.truncatus, to assess the role of kin selection in alliance membership in the northeast Bahamas. Stable alliances between pairs of males were identified based on association analyses of individual photoidentification data collected over 4 years. Molecular genetic analyses of tissue samples revealed highly significant correlations between patterns of association and both mitochondrial DNA haplotype identity and microsatellite relatedness, indicating that males within long-term alliances are more closely related than expected by chance. These data reinforce the high degree of plasticity previously reported within the genus Tursiops, and suggest that social and ecological differences between populations can markedly affect the role of kin selection in determining social alliances between male bottlenose dolphins.Copyright 2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Alliance capability, stock market response, and long‐term alliance success: the role of the alliance function

AbstractThis paper addresses two key questions: (1) what factors influence firms' ability to build alliance capability and enjoy greater alliance success, where firm‐level alliance success is measured in two ways: (a) abnormal stock market gains following alliance announcements and (b) managerial assessments of long term alliance performance; and (2) are the two alternate ways of assessing alliance success correlated? We find that firms with greater alliance experience and, more importantly, those that create a dedicated alliance function (with the intent of strategically coordinating alliance activity and capturing/disseminating alliance‐related knowledge) realize greater success with alliances. More specifically, firms with a dedicated alliance function achieve greater abnormal stock market gains (average of 1.35%) and report that 63 percent of alliances are successful whereas firms without an alliance function achieve much lower stock market gains (average of 0.18%) and only a 50 percent long‐term success rate. We also find a positive correlation between stock market‐based measures of alliance success and alliance success measured through managerial assessments. In addition to providing insights into the development of alliance capability among firms, this paper is one of the first to provide empirical support for the efficient markets argument by demonstrating that the initial stock market response to a key event positively correlates to the long‐term performance and value of the event. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Value-Based Partnering in Healthcare: A Framework for Analysis1

Value-based partnering is designed to move the healthcare system beyond cost-based competition. It recognizes that the healthcare "product" is not a commodity and that much of the value in the system comes from relationships between and among four stakeholders: consumers, providers, health plans, and employers. Given the difficulty of measuring such benefits as quality of care, improved health status, and increased employee productivity, stakeholders within the system traditionally have focused on easily measurable financial considerations such as premium rates. This focus has led to a system that defines relationships in purely financial terms. In contrast, the value-based partnering model presented in this article recognizes the range of factors that stakeholders consider in their relationships with each other. This approach has the potential to change the nature of competition and presents opportunities for those organizations that can effectively partner with other stakeholders and demonstrate value, rather than just lower cost. Moreover, by recognizing the interdependencies among stakeholder groups, the approach creates a strategic reason for employers, health plans, providers, and consumers to exchange information and create long-term alliances.

A Dependence-Trust Modelm of Export Alliance Performance in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Abstract This paper focuses on the export performance of US environmental technology (EnviroTech) firms, which are predominantly small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We conceptualize and empirically test a model of perceived export performance contingent upon the perceived effectiveness of host country partner (HCP) alliances, dependence, and trust in the HCP. We find that US SME EnviroTech firms contemplating exports need two critical ingredients for success. First, they must forge close, cooperative, long-term strategic alliances with HCPs for mutual benefit. And second, they must pay specific attention to building trust in the HCP in order to achieve greater success with the strategic alliance and exports. Though dependence on a host country partner increases the vulnerability of the exporter and detracts from an effective alliance, trust is the antidote that can neutralize the negative impact of dependence.

CATS and ABB TRC form long-term inspection alliance

CATS and ABB TRC form long-term inspection alliance

From Populism To Neoliberalism: Labor Unions and Market Reforms in Latin America

In the late 1980s, populist labor parties, which had advanced protectionism and state intervention in the postwar period, implemented market-oriented reforms in Argentina, Mexico, and Venezuela. In all three countries, market reforms hurt their union allies. The interaction between allied unions and governing labor parties, however, varied across countries and across sectors within the same country. While some unions endorsed neoliberal reforms, others rejected them despite their long-term alliance with governing parties. While some unions obtained concessions, others failed to do so.This article argues that the incentives created by partisan loyalties, partisan competition, and union competition explain these interactions. Partisan loyalty results from the long-term affiliation of unions with a political party. Partisan competition takes place among union leaders affiliated with different political parties for the control of unions. Union competition occurs in diverse national and sectoral contexts among labor organizations for the representation of the same workers. Loyalty derived from a long-term affiliation with the incumbent party facilitates collaboration between labor unions and the government. Yet, if partisan competition makes loyal union leaders afraid of being replaced by activists affiliated with the opposition parties, their incentives for militancy increase as a way of showing their responsiveness to the rank and file hurt by market reforms. Union competition for the representation of the same workers makes coordination more difficult, thereby weakening unions and making them less likely to obtain concessions from the government despite their partisan loyalty. The article presents empirical evidence from eighteen cases, including national confederations and individual unions in five economic sectors in Argentina, Mexico, and Venezuela to test this theory.

Is It Possible To Replace A Successful Sponsor?

Keywords: Replacing Successful Sponsors Executive Summary As the sponsorship industry matures, many firms are facing the prospect of having to replace well-established, successful sponsors. This can be seen as problematic both by the property owner tying to persuade a new partner that a sponsorship agreement can offer a significant return on investment, and the firm looking for an opportunity to enter into a sponsorship agreement. is it, however; as significant a problem as it appears? The issue for management in this situation is that many of these events have become victims of their own success. In some cases, although a number of different sponsors have supported the event over several years, one sponsor has made a particularly outstanding impression, such as confectionery giant Mars with the London Marathon. in other situations just one sponsor has dominated over an extended period, as has been the case with Beefeater Gin and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. This paper looks at the nature of each of these relationships to assess how, in each case; the situation has been addressed. The London Marathon case was unusual in that the most recognised sponsor, Mars, was not in fact the last one chronologically to support the event. The brand, however, has enjoyed many years associated with the Marathon for the simple reason that it delivered against the two most critical criteria; synergy between the event and the brand, and a successfully targeted exploitation. Several sponsors down the line, Flora took on the opportunity having also identified a perfect fit between exercise and healthy lifestyle. The brand then proceeded to integrate the event into all areas of the marketing mix to form a central theme for their annual brand planning and thereby create a programme focused on specific communication needs. Different objectives were set each year to keep the relationship fresh and allow it to evolve but, most importantly, on-going research has been implemented feeding back on a regular basis to judge performance against objectives. The findings of the research have enabled the team to assess where the programme is working most effectively and develop the programme accordingly. It has also allowed the brand to react quickly to opportunities such as the chance to work with the Diana Memorial Fund in 1998. Combining these factors has encouraged Flora to renew the contract twice and still continue to reap rewards from their investment. City of London fund managers Aberdeen Asset Management used similar techniques to address the issue of Beefeater's domination of the Boat Race. The event and its public profile and values presented the company with a huge opportunity to leverage the reputation of a relatively unknown brand. In a period of just weeks, Aberdeen created a campaign that allowed the firm to address the need to increase the awareness of the company and its inherent values to a very specific audience. Research was again key in setting benchmarks as well as the need for quick relationship building with media that had traditionally supported the event, such as the BBC and national press. A vital, but often ignored, audience of employees was also directly targeted ensuring that the event is supported both at home and abroad by what are, it is hoped, the sponsor's greatest advocates. In both cases, the synergy between event and sponsor together with clear objective setting, careful on going analysis of activity, and investment in exploitation have proven to be the fundamental elements to the success of the programme. Is It Possible to Replace A Successful Sponsor? The sponsorship industry is still in its relative infancy, particularly when compared with PR, advertising and other elements of the marketing mix. As it matures, however, many sponsors, encouraged initially to develop long-term alliances, are at the stage of terminating their contracts, often after long and successful relationships. …

Overcoming challenges in the management of schizophrenia

The authors discuss the impact of the recently available ‘atypical’ antipsychotic drugs on the management of people with schizophrenia. The better tolerability of the atypical agents, compared with conventional antipsychotics, should encourage their use as first-line therapy and therefore increase the acceptability of early intervention strategies. Tailoring treatment to the individual by appropriate selection of an atypical agent should facilitate the establishment of a productive, long-term therapeutic alliance and could achieve greater concordance between doctors and patients. Atypical antipsychotic drugs enable an improvement in management strategies which should contribute to a better outcome for patients with schizophrenia.

Privatization of Wastewater Treatment Plants: Lessons from Changing Corporate Strategies

Burgeoning budgetary pressures have created considerable interest for the privatization of public services. Privatization is usually justified in terms of the cost effectiveness that laissez-faire economics impose on the private sector. Yet, this model has come under challenge in the corporate world because businesses often must pursue other goals than just cost minimization, such as product quality, flexibility of production, and long-term alliances with other corporations, including ostensible competitors. A similar situation exists concerning the privatization of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) during the 1980s. Rather than adhering to the laissez-faire model, WWTP privatization was much more concerned with quality, flexibility, and “public-private partnerships,” suggesting that a broader and more sophisticated view of privatization is needed.

Why too many alliances end in divorce

Participation in multi-firm alliances is increasingly essential for business success, and careful selection of alliance partners is a key to alliance effectiveness. Current advice on partner selection tends to focus on one prospective alliance partner at a time, on how well prospective partners fit the business strategy of the proposed alliance and on the operational workability of the alliance. This article extends that advice by giving greater attention to issues involving multiple prospective partners and issues arising from the long-term alliance strategy of the firm. With multiple prospective partners, selection issues are more complex than with just one prospective partner. The long-term alliance strategy of the firm focuses primarily on organizational learning of new technical, managerial and partnering skills and on improving organizational positioning in the evolving landscape of alliance activity. The logical connections between current advice and the extensions developed here are drawn. Learning and positioning opportunities, if seized, can contribute significantly to the long-term prosperity of the organization.

University-Corporate Ties and the Construction of Research Agendas

The growing commercialisation of university science has often led to claims that research is being distorted by corporate influence. This paper develops a methodology for exploring the construction of research agendas associated with university-corporate ties. It examines in detail a form of collaboration that is increasingly common, the long-term research alliance funded by single companies. The study relates agenda construction to the organisational setting in which it occurs and argues that the latter needs to be given more attention in the sociological analysis of contemporary science.

Global R&D networks

The pharmaceutical industry is of considerable interest because of the significance of R&D and marketing expenditures in securing competitive advantage. The vast costs and risks entailed in new product development have spawned an international network of cooperative alliances between large pharmaceutical companies and small biotechnology companies, creating a complex web of inter-organisa-tional linkages spanning the globe. Without formal acknowledgment, this essentially cooperative network pools the resources of cash and expertise required to bring radically new technologies, products and processes to the market, in an atmosphere of fierce global competition between the major companies. The paper examines the case of Merck and its carefully constructed AIDS programme, which balances in-house development with longterm alliances forged with smaller firms and sometimes with competitors.

Structure of gelada baboon reproductive units. III. The male's relationship with his females

The social relationships between the male gelada baboon ( Theropithecus gelada) and the females of his reproductive unit are examined. A male does not necessarity interact with all his females, but rather tends to have a single predominant social partner, even though failure to interact with his females is likely to to result in his eviction as harem-holder by another male. Analysis of the characteristics of the male's main partner female reveals that these females tend to be those who lack female relatives with whom to groom. The dominant female can monopolize the male if she wants to, but she usually does so in wild groups only when she has no alternative related female partners available. The male's interactions with non-partner females tend to be more perfunctory and one-sided than those with his partner female, with non-partner females showing little interest in interacting with the male. The male's interactions with his main partner are similar to those that characterize close female-female relationships. In social terms, the male seems to function as an alternative (though less desirable) source of coalitionary support for females who lack female relatives with whom to form long-term alliances. These results suggest that an animal cannot always do what is best for it, because its behaviour is constrained by conflicts of interest between its own social strategies and those of its potential interactees.