Rarity has important implications with respect to information technology (IT) resources, enabling firms to develop competitive advantage. We study the effect of firms’ possession of rare technology (IT) resources in the formation of alliances and its effect on firm performance. Using text-mining techniques, we measure the rarity of the 488 technology keywords present in a text corpus from 81,26...

Abstract This paper considers the issues of managing relationships in the business to business environment of the healthcare supply chain. It incorporates the dimensions of relationships between purchasers and providers which may lead to optimum user satisfaction. This theme is developed to consider how an understanding of strategic alliances might be utilised to facilitate partnership approach...

We investigate the role of networks of alliances in preventing (multilateral) interstate wars. We first show that, in the absence of international trade, no network of alliances is peaceful and stable. We then show that international trade induces peaceful and stable networks: Trade increases the density of alliances so that countries are less vulnerable to attack and also reduces countries' in...

This article explores sources of failure in strategic alliances drawing on field research into one of the most prominent alliance collapses in recent years. The alliance of Volvo and Renault married the two largest enterprises in their respective countries for economic objectives that virtually all industry experts applauded. Three years after its founding, the allies split apart in a bruising ...

Project alliances have become an attractive option for delivering large, complex infrastructure construction projects in Australia. The development of relationships in cost competitive project alliances is central to performance and achievement of project objectives. Critical success factors in relationship development of alliance projects that improve performance were investigated. Conclusions...

Although the literature on organizational alliances and networks focuses primarily on private sector organizations, public sector organizations have long confronted pressures to manage their environments through the formation of alliances. Moreover, several organizational theorists have posited that private and public sector alliances are becoming more prevalent, particularly in the realm of re...

Pooling resources, knowledge and technologies is a necessity in the health sector. Many hospitals do so through alliances with compatible establishments, which have been studied from the organizational perspective for many years. However, many alliances are reported to fail and the conditions which could foster their success are still not well known. The aim of this exploratory study was to ide...

Alliances often face both free-riding and hold-up problems, which undermine the effectiveness of alliances in mobilizing joint fighting effort. Despite of these disadvantages, alliances are still ubiquitous in all types of contests. This paper asks if there are non-monetary incentives to form alliances, e.g., intimidating/discouraging the single player who is left alone. For this purpose, symme...

Advancing upon taxonomical research on interfirm alliances, we investigate the design of entrepreneurial firms’ alliances in more fine-grained terms by focusing on the specific contractual provisions that firms negotiate into their alliance contracts. Drawing upon transaction cost arguments, we examine the determinants of the contractual complexity of collaborative agreements in the German tele...

Despite the increasing number of strategic alliances, how to ensure their success is poorly understood. Studies suggest that up to seventy-five percent of alliances fail to meet their initial objectives due to a multitude of cultural, political, technological and human factors. If such an eclectic set of competencies is required for success, alliance management is clearly a difficult task for t...