Set Of Alliances Research Articles

BOOLEAN NETWORK AND SIMMELIAN TIE IN THE CO-AUTHOR MODEL: A STUDY OF DYNAMICS AND STRUCTURE OF A STRATEGIC ALLIANCE MODEL

This article explains a simulation of the Co-Author Model (CAM) applied in strategic alliance setting where firms use and optimize their network resources. To understand its process casualty better, I explain the model's mechanisms in terms of its interactive dynamics and resulting equilibrium structure. Classified as a Boolean network with two inputs, CAM's dynamics cause a biased equilibrium structure that could then be explained by the Simmelian tie and the completion of structure through structural balance. These explanations not only could answer the criticism that a simulation model is merely a toy model without much realism but could also explain and give insights to both substantive theory and methodology development in strategic alliance research. The results include the effect of a third party, the embeddedness of firms in their alliances, and the real-world implications of the "frozen web": a phenomenon drawn parallel to the financial crisis beginning in 2007.

Governing collaborative activity: interdependence and the impact of coordination and exploration

AbstractWe examine the performance implications of selecting alternate modes of governance in interorganizational alliance relationships. While managers can choose from a range of modes to govern alliances, prior empirical evidence offers limited guidance on the performance impact of this choice. We use an agent‐based simulation of interfirm decision making to complement empirical studies in this area. Our results point to a complex interplay between interdependencies, governance structures, and firms' search capabilities. Different patterns of interdependence create varying needs with respect to coordination and exploration, while at the same time different governance modes, coupled with organizational search capabilities, supply varying degrees of these factors. Firm performance in an alliance relationship improves when the needs and supplies of coordination and exploration are matched. We find situations in which stronger organizational search capabilities can backfire, leading to lower exploration within the alliance relationship, and hence to lower firm performance. Moreover, we show that for higher levels of interdependence, coordination can become more critical for firm performance than exploration: unless it is tied to coordination, exploration can be ineffective in alliance settings. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Service Failure and Recovery in a Strategic Airline Alliance Context: Interplay of Locus of Service Failure and Social Identity

ABSTRACT There has been a dramatic increase in the past decade in the number of strategic alliances and business networks. Yet, despite these trends in the business environment, the individual firm-customer dyad has remained the contextual focus of most services marketing research (Gittell, 2002). Using a scenario study, this research investigates the effects of service failures in a strategic airline alliance setting, with a particular focus on locus of service failure and strength of social identification, on three alliance entities—a consumer's home carrier, the alliance partner airline, and the alliance. Study findings suggest that consumers' evaluations are more stable (less extreme) when the home carrier causes the service failure. In contrast, when a lesser known entity (partner airline) causes the service failure, consumers are more willing to rate that entity harshly. Furthermore, compared to weak identifiers, strong identifiers were not only more positive in their evaluation of the home carrier but also in their evaluation of the alliance, pointing to a halo effect, whereby positive evaluations of the home carrier are transferred to the alliance. Implications of study results are discussed and directions for future research provided.

Child safety education coalition: a mixed methods evaluation of a national alliance

ObjectiveTo evaluate a national child injury prevention coalition.BackgroundThe Child Safety Education Coalition (CSEC) is a national alliance set up in 2009 in response to the UK Governments Staying Safe Action...

Strategic Technology Management in Practice: Dynamic SAP-LAP Analysis of an Auto Component Manufacturing Firm in India

The key purpose of the paper is to examine reality of Strategic Technology Management (STM) in the Indian context. Despite considerable efforts at enhancing competitiveness through technology management, the scale-up remains low. Among several reasons, weak linkages between the technology strategy and business strategy leading to gaps in the technology capability and competitiveness seem to be the potential root causes. Leadership of firms should have deep understanding of strategic issues of technology management and they should have the drive to go beyond the first set of strategic alliances to enhance capabilities of STM across the journey. While there is considerable literature which emphasizes the importance of linking technology and strategy, reality of STM in Indian context is rarely examined, particularly in mid-size firms. This study examines the longitudinal technology development at an auto component manufacturer in India and analyses the linkage between STM and business performance using the dynamic SAP-LAP analysis. The paper also extends the dynamic SAP-LAP framework to include mapping of STM aspects on a flexibility continuum.

The Effect of Preconsumption Mood and Service Recovery Measures On Customer Evaluations and Behavior in a Strategic Alliance Setting

In recent years, researchers have devoted considerable attention to the study of service failure and recovery, predominantly focusing on the impact of a single service failure event. More recently, several researchers have begun to investigate how multiple service failures over an extended time period influence consumer evaluations. However, current research has ignored the impacts of service failures and recovery measures in situations in which two or more service organizations are involved in the service provision, as is the case in a strategic alliance setting. The present study reports on an experiment that investigated the impact of preconsumption mood and service recovery measures on consumer evaluations in an airline alliance setting. The implications of the study results, both theoretical and managerial, will be discussed and future research directions proposed.

Re-considering Chronologies of Nationalism and Communalism

In 1920, M.K. Gandhi launched the Non-cooperation campaign, his first attempt at mass anti-colonial mobilisation. It quickly became aligned with the Khilafat movement—a mobilisation among Indian Muslims to protect the position of the Khalifa after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. Scholars have seen this moment as the high point of cooperation between India's Hindus and Muslims, with a real possibility for unity in the nationalist movement. However, the campaigns ended within two years and, after 1922, differences among the leadership intersected with violent conflicts between Hindu and Muslim communities in a number of different regions; the promise of the preceding years appeared shattered, some argue for ever. Scholarship on the Khilafat movement has been teleological, tending to read it either as part of the story of ‘Muslim separatism’ or subsuming it into the forward march of Indian nationalism. Arguing that the picture drawn by the existing scholarship is misleading, this article asks if the Khilafat movement can really have a story of its own. Through examining the campaign in Sind, it shows that at the grassroots it was made up of a complex set of alliances, often little related with religious difference or Indian nationalism, made and broken right from its inception. Rather, it argues that political developments in the post-Khilafat period proved crucial to the way that nationalism and communalism would come to be defined.

Logistic innovation in global supply chains: an empirical test of dynamic transaction-cost theory

Upgrading logistic services in the context of international supply chains is not a smooth process. Upgrading may require the development of co-operative relationships, or alliances, involving large logistic service firms and their customers: multinational enterprises. Both sides may be unwilling and/or unable to engage in upgrading strategies in an alliance context. Fourth-party logistics is an example of a logistic product innovation entailing research-based advice as well as the design and implementation of new supply-chain solutions. It has the potential of stimulating spatial shift in global production networks and regional distribution systems (Visser and Lambooy, Geographisches Zeitschrift 92(heft 1+2):5–20, 2005). Using dynamic transaction-cost theory (Nooteboom, Learning and innovation in organisations and economies, 2000), this paper theoretically specifies and empirically measures three risks associated with the development of fourth-party logistics: dependence, unwanted spillovers, and conservatism. Case-study evidence reveals that dynamic transaction-cost theory partially explains the slow development of new logistic services in an alliance setting. Some aspects of conservatism are found to be relevant, along with risks of dependence due to specific investments in human resources and information systems. Other, not predicted but important factors, however, are the lack of credibility of service innovation by asset-based logistic firms, and strategic considerations of customers regarding logistic organization and control. The first factor implies that firms specializing in fourth-party services are likely to remain (very) limited in number. The second factor implies that this type of service provision is more likely to develop in dynamic port clusters, as customers prefer to tap into a variety of ideas from many different suppliers. In local clusters, interactions between firms can be relatively frequent, casual, short-lived and open, so that the structure of local networks is relatively decentralized, dense and flexible. This stimulates (logistic) innovation (Nooteboom, in Hanusch and Pyka (eds.) Elgar companion to neo Schumpeterian economics, 2006). In global supply chains, interactions between logistic service firms and their customers tend to have the opposite characteristics, which do not stimulate innovation.

Predicting unobserved links in incompletely observed networks

In this paper we consider networks in which the links (edges) are imperfectly observed. This may be a result of sampling, or it may be caused by actors (vertices) who are actively attempting to hide their links (edges). Thus the network is incompletely observed, and we wish to predict which of the possible unobserved links are actually present in the network. To this end, we apply a constrained random dot product graph (CRDPG) to rank the potential edges according to the probability (under the model) that they are in fact present. This model is then extended to utilize covariates measured on the actors, to improve the link prediction. The method is illustrated on a data set of alliances between nations, in which a subset of the links (alliances) is assumed unobserved for the purposes of illustration.

Sex Workers’ Struggles in Bangladesh: Learning for the Women's Movement

In 1999 the government of Bangladesh forcefully evicted sex workers from a large cluster of brothels just outside Dhaka. Members of the sex worker organisation, Ulka, immediately sought support from Naripokkho, a country-wide women’s NGO. The Naripokkho office was transformed into an impromptu shelter with over 40 women sleeping there, and a few more staying with staff in their homes. This led to a new set of relationships and alliances between the sex workers and staff. Naripokkho and other Bangladeshi women’s organisations supported a campaign for the rights of the sex workers and their struggles to defend themselves against the illegal evictions. This article explores the lessons learnt by these organisations through their involvement. It suggests that these struggles gave a new and more public meaning to discussions on sexuality and sexual rights that had already been taking place within the women’s movement.

Public–private partnerships in education: insights from the field

Despite extensive attention (positive and negative) devoted to the philosophical, public policy and political dimensions of public–private partnerships (PPPs) in education, little attention has been devoted to their managerial implications as well as the broader organizational context (strategic alliances) within which they are a special case. In this paper we seek first to identify what they are and then examine PPPs in education that have been recently created and are operating in England. It is worth noting that PPPs appear to be indistinguishable from the larger set of strategic alliances in fields other than education, and their recent arrival in education reflects its evolution towards a multi-sector, alliance-oriented field.

The World Health Organization and the transition from "international" to "global" public health.

The term "global health" is rapidly replacing the older terminology of "international health." We describe the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in both international and global health and in the transition from one to the other. We suggest that the term "global health" emerged as part of larger political and historical processes, in which WHO found its dominant role challenged and began to reposition itself within a shifting set of power alliances. Between 1948 and 1998, WHO moved from being the unquestioned leader of international health to being an organization in crisis, facing budget shortfalls and diminished status, especially given the growing influence of new and powerful players. We argue that WHO began to refashion itself as the coordinator, strategic planner, and leader of global health initiatives as a strategy of survival in response to this transformed international political context.

Organizational learning, commitment, and joint value creation in interfirm relationships

In this study, we underline the importance of distinguishing firm-specific and collaboration-specific benefits in managing interfirm relationships. We propose that strong commitment to collaboration enables firms to transform their idiosyncratic resources into higher rents for the alliance as well as themselves. We extend the organizational learning inquiry into an alliance setting and identify three factors that can facilitate commitment in interfirm relationships. The findings reinforce the importance of organizational commitment in generating higher value in interfirm relationships. We also examine some contingencies in which commitment may affect alliance performance and firm performance distinctively.

Equity Links and Information Acquisition in Biotechnology Alliances

We use a simple model of collaborative innovation to structure an empirical analysis of minority equity links in biotechnology alliances between clients and R&D firms. In the model, an equity link is an investment in information acquisition: it improves the ability of the client to learn about the R&D firm's ability and the alliance project's quality. The model generates several testable hypotheses about how the R&D firm's project characteristics and previous alliances affect the use of equity links in new alliances. We test the hypotheses using a large data set of biotechnology alliances and find empirical support.

Equity links and information acquisition in biotechnology alliances

We use a simple model of collaborative innovation to structure an empirical analysis of minority equity links in biotechnology alliances between clients and R&D firms. In the model, an equity link is an investment in information acquisition: it improves the ability of the client to learn about the R&D firm's ability and the alliance project's quality. The model generates several testable hypotheses about how the R&D firm's project characteristics and previous alliances affect the use of equity links in new alliances. We test the hypotheses using a large data set of biotechnology alliances and find empirical support.

Learning and information dissemination in logistics alliances

Alliances have been increasing at an alarming rate for the past decade. Many of these alliances are used predominately in the supply chain side of businesses and industries. They are used to facilitate communication and interaction between firms that require resources of one another. Alliances facilitate the learning that takes place between firms involved in them. The aim of this article is to take an alliance learning perspective in explaining the processes of information dissemination and communication between firms involved in supply chain management. A conceptual model is developed which examines the learning and information communication dynamics of supply chain management in an alliance setting. Propositions are espoused which led to future research directions being discussed.

Consumer attributions and behavioral responses to service failures in strategic airline alliance settings

The paper expands on previous research by examining customer evaluations in settings other than single firm customer-individual service provider settings. Findings of in-depth interviews with frequent flyers provide insights into their attributions and likely behavioral responses to different types of service failures in an airline alliance setting. This highlights potential negative repercussions for an airline resulting from its affiliation with an alliance and its partner airlines. It demonstrates likely problems for airlines in an alliance that can be negatively affected by a service failure of a partner airline, first via a negative evaluation and consequently, by customer dissatisfaction, negative word-of-mouth and ultimately, reduced loyalty.

The world situation and WHO

This reality, however, should not lead to the conclusion that the primary conflict today is between developed and developing countries. Such an interpretation is seen, for example, in the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Reports. In describing the world social situation, these reports contrast such things as the amount of money spent by people on feeding their pets in developed countries with the amount of money spent on feeding children in poorer countries. 3 This type of presentation and analysis, besides making people from economically advanced countries feel guilty, seems to carry the message that the problem of famine in children in poorer countries—one of the largest public health problems 4 —could be solved by transferring funds from the people living in wealthy countries (funds saved by not feeding pets) to feed children in developing countries. This analysis is wrong and naively apolitical; it erroneously assumes that famine and poverty in developing countries are caused by a lack of funds (and other resources). But the well documented reality is that these countries have enough resources to feed populations many times their size. 5 Even Bangladesh and Haiti, to mention just two countries where famine is endemic, have enough productive land to feed their populations five times over. To be fair to the UNDP, however, this position is now being questioned within the organisation, but the view is still prevalent in that agency, as well as in many human development and foreign aid agencies of the UN. This division of the world ignores the fact that the distribution of economic, political, and cultural resources is highly concentrated in specific areas in both high and low income countries. 1 Frequently forgotten is that 20% of the richest people in the world live in developing countries. 6 The extremely luxurious standard of living of Arab sheiks who reside in a sea of poverty in some Arab countries is an example of a situation common in developing countries. It is precisely this concentration of economic, political, and cultural power among and within all countries that is at the root of the world’s most important social (including health) problems. What is usually referred to as the world order (though better described as world disorder) is based on an alliance of the dominant classes (and other social groups) of the developed world with the dominant classes (and other social groups) of developing regions who are against a redistribution of resources that would adversely affect their interests. The evidence for this situation is overwhelming. 1 Moreover, we cannot understand the behaviour of today’s international agencies, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and World Trade Organisation (WTO), without understanding their articulation in this set of alliances. How WHO fits into this situation Within the context described above, what are the patterns of influence over WHO? This is certainly an understudied area of policy research. But there are some strong pointers that can help us with an initial diagnosis. The economic, political, and health institutions in developed countries, and especially the USA (including its federal agencies, foundations, and leading academic institutions), have an enormous effect on the culture, discourse, practices, and policies of WHO (and of the Pan American Health Organisation [PAHO]). The dominant ideologies in such institutions (especially in the USA) are seen in WHO documents shortly after surfacing in mainstream medical and economics journals. One example is the WHO report evaluating countries’ health systems. 7

Alliances and cost declaration

AbstractOur model explores the co‐existence of both cooperative and competitive behaviors in an alliance setting. Specifically, when alliance partners cooperatively choose observable contributions given reported costs, their self‐interested behavior may lead to misreporting of costs related to these contributions.We show that truthful cost reporting by an alliance firm is valuable, thereby establishing that accurate cost reports are a determinant of successful alliance performance. Next we show that an alliance firm's cost reporting behavior may depend on the type of payoffs it receives from alliance, i.e., a share of profit or revenue, and also on the type of relationship between contributions, i.e., whether they are technical substitutes or complements. While we have focussed on highlighting factors which underlie cost misreporting, this study also may serve as a basis for investigating ways to design contracts to diminish the loss an alliance suffers from cost misreporting of the firms, thus increasing the chance that an alliance will be successful. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The world health situation.

This article, based on a speech given at the Sixth IUHP European Conference on Health Promotion and Education, describes the consequences of the concentration of economic, political, and cultural power in the world today (in the countries of both North and South) for the health and well-being of the world population. The author stresses that the current world disorder is based on a set of alliances between the dominant classes (and economic and financial groups) of the North and the dominant classes (and groups) of the South against redistributional policies that would adversely affect their interests. This situation hurts the health and well-being of the dominated classes and other social groups of both North and South.