Alliance Portfolio Management Research Articles

Process Capabilities and Value Generation in Alliance Portfolios

This paper develops a multidimensional, process-based conceptualization of alliance portfolio management capability. Arguing that such a capability consists of organizational processes to proactively pursue alliance formation opportunities, engage in relational governance, and coordinate knowledge and strategies across the portfolio, we examine the impact of such a capability on organizational outcomes in the context of formal structure (alliance function) and strategy (portfolio diversity). Using data from 235 firms, we find that these three processes have a positive effect on a firm's alliance portfolio capital, and some of these effects are conditioned by a formal alliance function and diversity of the portfolio. Whereas the ability of proactive formation and relational governance processes to create value is further strengthened in the presence of an alliance function, that of the coordination dimension is weakened. Furthermore, the benefits of relational governance are strengthened for firms with diverse portfolios, whereas the benefits of coordination processes are weakened. We discuss implications of these findings for the alliance and network literature, and in general, for firm heterogeneity. In summary, we find evidence that variance in process-based capabilities to manage alliance portfolios can explain performance heterogeneity among firms.

Alliance Portfolios: A Review and Research Agenda

The engagement of firms in multiple simultaneous strategic alliances with different partners has become a ubiquitous phenomenon in today’s business landscape. This article offers a review of the extant alliance portfolio literature and organizes it around three key research areas: (a) the emergence of alliance portfolios, (b) the configuration of alliance portfolios, and (c) the management of alliance portfolios. The article also highlights existing gaps in the present understanding of alliance portfolios and outlines a research agenda by identifying key research questions and issues in the areas where further research is needed.

Building Capabilities for Alliance Portfolios

This article analyses how firms build their capabilities for alliance portfolios. We investigate different solutions that are adopted across portfolio sizes, and whether the adoption of these solutions explains alliance portfolio performance. Our findings illustrate which solutions practitioners should consider implementing when expanding their alliance portfolio, and which can help enhance their portfolio performance. Our conclusions are based on a sample of 192 firms managing over 3,400 strategic alliances and seven expert interviews. We analyse the adoption of 14 distinct alliance practices in four solution categories. Our results reveal whether and when functional and staffing (e.g. alliance manager, alliance department), tool-based (e.g. intranet, codification of best practices), training (e.g. in-house, external training) and third party (e.g. consultant, mediators) solutions help firms transition successfully between small, medium, and large alliance portfolios, and to what extent they are associated with alliance success. Rules of engagement for successful alliance portfolio management are discussed.