Partner Selection Process Research Articles

The partner selection process: steps, effectiveness, governance

Selecting the right partner is important for creating value in alliances. Even though prior research suggests that a structured partner selection process increases alliance success, empirical research remains scarce. This paper presents an explorative empirical study that shows that some steps in the partner selection process are more important than others. We also find evidence that a structured partner selection process contributes more to alliance success than an informal process. Another finding is that companies tend to focus on early phases of the partner selection process whereas the data suggest that paying attention to later phases is more important. Finally, alliances are more likely to be successful when the partners pay attention to the legal dimension of their partner selection process. Taking a legal perspective and providing an adequate governance structure for the selection process may diminish conflict between partners and increase success.

Partner selection criteria in international joint ventures: perspectives of foreign investors from Asian NIEs of Malaysia and India

This study aimed to explore the partner selection criteria employed by foreign investors from the newly industrializing economies of Malaysia and India when forming international joint ventures in other newly industrializing economies and developing countries. Geringer's (1991) typology of task-related and partner-related selection criteria was used as a basis for determining the partner selection criteria employed by foreign investors from newly industrializing economies. The influence of issues such as past association, trust, communication, control and culture as well as the relevance of theories including the bargaining power theory, transaction cost theory and organizational learning theory on newly industrializing economies firms' partner selection process were also examined. This qualitative study revealed that newly industrializing economies firms' partner selection criteria are often influenced by firm characteristics, country and industry related factors as well as one or more of the examined issues and theories.

Partner selection for strategic alliances: case study insights from the maritime industry

PurposeThe purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the partner selection criteria reported by maritime firms in Norway. The study aims to analyze how a maritime firm's competitive advantage can be enhanced by the selection of the right partner with reference to a strategic alliance.Design/methodology/approachA multiple‐case study methodology was used. Archival, survey and interview data were explored relating to the partner selection process reported by Norwegian maritime firms. Primary data were gathered from semi‐structured personal interviews with managers of Norwegian maritime firms.FindingsCase study evidence suggests that the strategic alliances were successful when partners had been carefully selected. As detected elsewhere, successful alliances were associated with partners that had managed to build trustful and honest relationships, had common strategic goals, and partners that supplied resources and competencies. Notably, it was detected that cyclicality in the maritime industry shaped the partner selection process. Trust between partners was used as mechanism to reduce uncertainty relating to the strategic alliance process. Firms seeking long‐term alliances selected partners with substantial capital and financial stability to survive a market's downturn, as well as the resources required for expansion during a recession.Practical implicationsPresented findings have implications for practitioners, especially for managers of shipping firms, banks, shipyards, producers of ship equipment, ship design firms, and ship brokers. Practitioners need to be aware that the rationale for inter‐firm collaboration change over time, and motives are linked to the phase of the maritime cycle. Inter‐firm collaboration provides competitive advantage benefits to firms and collaboration can protect as well as create jobs and can create wealth in maritime communities.Originality/valueA novel conceptual contribution is the exploration of links between maritime industrial cyclicality and the partner selection process relating to strategic alliances. The study also adds to debates relating to the profiles of internationalizing smaller firms.

The financial accelerator in an evolving credit network

We model a credit network characterized by credit relationships connecting (i) downstream (D) and upstream (U) firms and (ii) firms and banks. The net worth of D firms is the driver of fluctuations. The production of D firms and of their suppliers (U firms) in fact, is constrained by the availability of internal finance—proxied by net worth—to the D firms. The structure of credit interlinkages changes over time due to an endogeneous process of partner selection, which leads to the polarization of the network. At the aggregate level, the distribution of growth rates exhibits negative skewness and excess kurtosis. When a shock hits the macroeconomy or a significant group of agents in the credit network a bankruptcy avalanche can follow if agents’ leverage is critically high. In a nutshell we want to explore the properties of a network-based financial accelerator.

Learning processes in municipal broadband projects: An absorptive capacity perspective

Effective knowledge management is important to the success of information technology projects. This research applies the integrated lens of the absorptive capacity theory and the social process model of information system development projects to examine the dynamic of knowledge activities concerning broadband infrastructure development in the context of municipal broadband networks. The research questions are: (1) What is the extent of the dynamic of knowledge activities involved in the development process?, (2) What are the events that trigger knowledge activities in municipal broadband development?, and (3) How does a city create and utilize new knowledge in the development process? This study examines municipal wireless projects in three cities (Chaska, MN; Hermosa Beach, CA; and Fredericton, Canada). Events that trigger knowledge activities are assignment of personnel, physical system construction, performance problems, resistance, and reassignment of organizational roles. Four factors that influence knowledge activities and project performance are the dynamic of technology development, partnership commitments, limitation of external knowledge and learning-by-doing, and political dynamics. The study has policy implications for cities that are in the process of planning and deployment. A good project planning, user expectation management, systematic performance evaluation, a careful partner selection process, and the use of service level agreements are important to project success. In addition, cities need to take into consideration that the technology is not a plug and play technology and that considerable efforts are needed to integrate the technology with other solutions to deliver broadband services as well as to configure the system according to topologies, street conditions, buildings, density of trees, among others.

Selecting engineering partner for EPC projects using a fuzzy AHP approach

Most of the EPC projects are implemented by project oriented joint ventures. Joint ventures are means of accessing resources held by other organizations. Correct partner selection may facilitate innovations in construction technology, reduce the project’s cost and time, and increase the performance of the EPC projects. This paper attempts to develop a step by step decision making model for engineering partner selection process. The problem of selecting appropriate engineering company is a multi criteria decision that has many uncertainties in its nature. The model takes into account consultant’s relationships with project stakeholders, its proposed commission fee, and its managerial and technical capabilities. The paper describes a fuzzy analytical hierarchy (AHP) model which constitutes a quantitative estimation methodology that can be used to select engineering partner for construction companies. A numerical case with a sensitivity analysis is presented to demonstrate the application of the model in real cases. The model can be used widely by key decision makers of construction companies who are looking for appropriate engineering partners.

The role of gender in single vs married individuals with bipolar disorder

Background Despite the importance of marriage as a source of social support, it has been largely neglected in studies of bipolar disorder; and differential effects on men and women have not been explored. Methods Data on episodes of depression, mania, and mixed states were collected for the previous 2 years from a sample of 282 bipolar individuals using the National Institute of Mental Health Life Chart Methodology. Results Effects unique to women included the following: Bipolar women were significantly more likely to be married. Married women had fewer episodes of depression during the past 2 years than never-married women, and the cumulative severity of depression was lower. There were no differences in diagnostic subtype or age of onset between married and never-married women. Among men, never-married men were more likely to have bipolar I disorder and had an earlier age of onset compared with married men. There were no differences between married and never-married men in frequency, duration, or severity of mood episodes. Conclusions Partner selection processes as they relate to bipolar disorder may be different for men and women. The bipolar I diagnostic subtype and early age of onset were associated with a lower likelihood of being married for men, but not for women. Marriage was associated with less depression in women during a 2-year period; but marital status was not associated with disease course differences in men, suggesting that women may be more sensitive to the positive effects of social support available within a stable marital relationship.

Status Homogamy in the Preindustrial Marriage Market: Partner Selection According to Age, Social Origin, and Place of Birth in Nineteenth-century Rural Sweden

This article studies partner selection according to three dimensions: social origin, age, and place of birth. The authors use micro-level data from local population registers in five parishes in southern Sweden from 1815 to 1895. The results confirm that all three aspects were important but that socioeconomic status was the most important characteristic, structuring much of the selection process. The importance of social and age homogamy remained stable over the period, while geographic exogamy became more frequent, which could be interpreted in terms of an increasing openness of rural society. The authors also find some indications of exchange of characteristics in the partner selection process.

Business fluctuations and bankruptcy avalanches in an evolving network economy

We analyze the properties of a three-sector network economy characterized by credit relationships connecting downstream and upstream firms (inside credit) and credit relationships connecting firms and banks (outside credit). The network topology changes over time due to an endogenous process of partner selection (the preferred-partner choice rule). The output of simulations shows that a business cycle at the macroeconomic level can develop as a consequence of the complex interaction of the heterogeneous financial conditions of the agents involved. In this paper we focus on the emergence of bankruptcy crises: the bankruptcy of one agent can bring about the bankruptcy of one or more other agents in a snowball effect of more or less large size, depending on the network structure and the incidence of non-performing loans on balance sheets of agents involved.

The franchise partner selection process and implications for India

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide insights on the franchise partner recruitment process and decision‐making criteria used to select partners. It aims to investigate the process and parameters considered by franchisees in selecting potential international hotel organizations as partners. The success of such choices influences growth of the firms and consequently affecting industry and economy.Design/methodology/approachIn‐depth semi‐structured interviews with owners, directors, vice presidents and mangers of the franchisee organizations were deployed.FindingsFindings suggest that partner selection is a multidimensional activity involving several key stages. Indian franchisees use profitability, brand name, operations support as decision‐making criteria while selecting their partners.Practical implicationsDifferences occur at various stages of partner selection. A proper understanding of partner selection dynamics and careful consideration of criteria's like culture, organizational values, pricing, experience, etc. would result in a better building of relationship.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the complexity of the process and the decision‐making criteria from a franchisee's perspective. From a practical perspective, it could be of value to future and existing international hotel chains using franchising as a mode of expansion.

Building Successful Strategic Alliances: Strategic Process and Analytical Tool for Selecting Partner Industries and Firms

Successful business alliances are a critical strategic component in many industries, but too many strategic alliances fail to meet their partners' objectives. While the reasons behind alliance failures are complex, and vary according to type of alliance and industry, many failures result from ill-conceived overall alliance strategies, narrowly focused industry and firm partner selection analytical thinking and models, and poor alliance management, execution and implementation. In particular, the well-informed and strategically driven selection of alliance partners is a core element in building successful alliances. To that end, this article provides alliance managers and researchers with (1) a strategic management-based industry and partner selection process, (2) a new dynamic partner selection tool for evaluating target industries and specific firms, which is applicable to multiple alliance and industry contexts, and (3) an alliance-rich global travel industry application that illustrates the robustness of our partner selection process and analytical tool. The article fills a gap in the literature with respect to service-business alliances, which have traditionally been understudied. Lastly, perspectives are offered for future managerial and research actions.

Group multi-attribute decision model to partner selection in the formation of virtual enterprise under incomplete information

Partner selection is very important in the formation of a virtual enterprise. However, in many practical situations, during the partner selection process, the decision makers are generally unsure of their preferences because the information about the candidates and their performances are incomplete and uncertain. Therefore, two MADM (multi-attribute decision model) methods for group decision making with interval values are proposed to solve partner selection problem under incomplete information in this paper. The first method is a technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) for group decision making based on deviation degree. The second method is a TOPSIS for group decision making based on risk factor. Finally, an illustrative example is used to demonstrate the feasibility and practicability of these two extended TOPSIS methods for group decision making with interval values. Results show that these two extended TOPSIS methods for group decision making with interval values can effectively deal with the partner selection problem under incomplete information.

Supply Chain Partners Selection Criterion in United Arab Emirates: A Study of Packaged Food Products Supply Chain

Application of supply chain management tools and techniques may not lead us very far in implementing them and yielding the benefits of relationship without understanding the partner's selection criterion. While there is plenty of published literature that explains or espouses benefits of partnering relationship there is a relative lack of empirical studies examining the partner selection practices in the context of different countries. The purpose of this paper is to understand the supply chain partner selection criterion of supply chain members of United Arab Emirates for successful collaboration, alignment and integration of the businesses. In order to study the partner selection criterion various perspectives of supply chain management practices and criterion of partner selection are grouped under five perspectives of partnership as characteristics, economics, dynamic capabilities, technology, and institutions and a survey instrument was developed to evaluate the criterion of the partner selection. The study results suggest that customer and suppliers do not appear willing to embrace the long-term relationship concept readily. The business environment such as market dynamics, globalization process and economy of the specific country or region has a bigger impact on partner selection process. The research results provide a rich basis for further theory development in the areas of supply chain practices in transition economic environment and the global supply chain management practices beyond the United Arab Emirates market.

Cooperative strategies in customer–supplier relationships: The role of interfirm trust

In this paper we model the real cost structures of three customer–supplier relationships through a game theory approach. The three cases demonstrate the benefits of mutual interfirm trust in financially measurable terms. Indeed, interfirm trust can decrease the transaction costs of the relationship, thus providing competitive advantage for the partners. Moreover, we present a pricing arrangement that partially compensates the possible lack of mutual trust. A practical implication is that managers should pay more attention to the role of interfirm trust in partner selection processes.

The Efficiency and Evolution of R&D Networks

This work introduces a new model to investigate the efficiency and evolution of networks of firms exchanging knowledge in R&D partnerships. We first examine the efficiency of a given network structure in terms of the maximization of total profits in the industry. We show that the efficient network structure depends on the marginal cost of collaboration. When the marginal cost is low, the complete graph is efficient. However, a high marginal cost implies that the efficient network is sparser and has a core-periphery structure. Next, we examine the evolution of the network structure when the decision on collaborating partners is decentralized. We show the existence of multiple equilibrium structures which are in general inefficient. This is due to (i) the path dependent character of the partner selection process, (ii) the presence of knowledge externalities and (iii) the presence of severance costs involved in link deletion. Finally, we study the properties of the emerging equilibrium networks and we show that they are coherent with the stylized facts of R&D networks.

Market and partner selection processes in international retail franchising

This paper adopts a qualitative, case study approach to examine the market and partner selection processes of retailers operating internationally via franchising. Despite the increasing prevalence of franchising as an entry mode for international retailers, little research exists that considers how these firms choose franchise markets and franchise partners. The paper proposes a conceptual framework of the market and partner selection process that exhibits opportunistic and strategic behavior. Firms adopting a strategic approach undergo a market screening process before market attractiveness factors ultimately lead to the market selection decision. In the strategic partner selection process that follows, finance, business know-how, local knowledge, a shared understanding of the business and brand, and, ultimately, chemistry between the partners are the key factors influencing partner selection. In the case of an opportunistic approach to market and partner selection, the process reverses, with partner selection directly influencing market selection.

Impact of culture on ‘partner selection criteria’ in East Asian international joint ventures

Selecting the right partner is important for the success of alliances and joint ventures. For international joint ventures (IJVs) from diverse cultures the partner selection process can become complicated. Prior studies have investigated the alliances and joint ventures to develop a set of objective criteria for evaluating potential partners. This paper reports the study of IJVs formed by Singapore firms in Peoples Republic of China and India. The intent was to develop a methodology for identifying partner selection criteria in a cross-cultural setting. The findings reveal that the partner selection process follows a different logic in Confucian societies. Trust has been established to be essential for developing enduring co-operative relationships. The paper explores the concept of trust in relation to commitment and control in the context of the Confucian culture. We discover that trust is critical to partner selection. Cultural differences do not significantly alter the partner selection criteria for Singapore firms. Results support the view that while Chinese may depend on networks for social solidarity, social trust does extends beyond the family and is necessary for harmonious and successful joint ventures.

International franchise partner selection and chain performance through the lens of organisational learning

This study aims to investigate how international franchisors engage in exploratory and exploitative learning in the partner selection process and the implications for chain performance. Based on an embedded case study of a leading international hotel organisation, the findings reveal that the franchisor attempted a balanced learning approach in response to challenges caused by high cultural distance in international markets. However, the ‘crowd-out’ effect of exploration and exploitation created a ‘tension’: exploration emphasising adaptation to local needs dominated the partner identification stage in country markets, whilst exploitation stressing standardisation and efficiencies dominated the partner decision-making stage at division. As a result, a consistent brand image came at the cost of very cautious international expansion.

Strategic partnering with Chinese companies: hidden motives and treasures

In this paper we aim to investigate the key drivers of international alliance formation from the perspective of Chinese companies. Our results indicate that Chinese companies enter into alliances with Western companies mainly to get accesses to international markets and to develop their technological and managerial competences further. Therefore we can say that Chinese companies particularly value task-related criteria when selecting Western partners. Nevertheless we also find that Chinese companies also include 'soft' factors such as trust, compatibility or reputation in their partner selection process. We therefore conclude that in searching for Western partners, Chinese companies try to find a combination of 'hard' competencies such as technology and other resources as well as more 'soft' attributes such as trust, mutual understanding and commitment.

Partnership Selection and Formation: A Case Study of Developing Adolescent Health Community-Researcher Partnerships in Fifteen U.S. Communities

Purpose This study describes the partner selection process in 15 U.S. communities developing community-researcher partnerships for the Connect to Protect® (C2P): Partnerships for Youth Prevention Interventions, an initiative of the Adolescent Trials Network for human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) Interventions. Methods Each site generated an epidemiological profile of urban youth in their community, selected a focus population and geographic area of youth at risk for HIV, conducted a series of successive structured interviews, and engaged in a process of relationship-building efforts culminating in a collaborative network of community agencies. Results Sites chose as their primary target population young women who have sex with men (n = 8 sites), young men who have sex with men (n = 6), and intravenous drug users (n = 1). Of 1162 agencies initially interviewed, 281 of 335 approached (84%) agreed to join the partnership (average 19/site). A diverse array of community agencies were represented in the final collaborative network; specific characteristics included: 93% served the sites’ target population, 54% were predominantly youth oriented, 59% were located in the geographical area of focus, and 39% reported provision of HIV/STI (sexually transmitted infection) prevention services. Relationship-building activities, development of collaborative relationships, and lessons learned, including barriers and facilitators to partnership, are also described. Conclusions Study findings address a major gap in the community partner research literature. Health researchers and policymakers need an effective partner selection framework whereby community-researcher partnerships can develop a solid foundation to address public health concerns.