Alliance Advantage: The Art of Creating Value Through Partnering

Book Description:

To meet the challenges posed by globalization and new technologies, firms--even traditional rivals--are increasingly turning to alliances. Yet for all their growing strategic importance, alliances still receive the most attention at the time they are created, with very little analysis or evaluation dedicated to the ongoing relationship. With Alliance Advantage, strategy experts and bestselling authors Yves Doz and Gary Hamel shift the focus away from deal making and turn to the frequently overlooked internal processes that play a crucial role in shaping outcomes.

A fundamentally new approach to the value created through alliances, Alliance Advantage challenges the assumption that the economics of an alliance are the same as those of a joint venture. By exploring the underlying reasons why companies enter alliances, the unique opportunities for value creation such alliances provide, and the processes through which each stakeholder learns from its interactions, the authors help bridge the gap between expectations and outcomes.

Drawing on principles of strategy, organizational design, organizational learning, and collaborative management, Doz and Hamel reach surprising new conclusions about how alliances can be managed to win both the "race for the future" (creating new markets) and the "race for the world" (gaining a foothold in emerging economies such as China). Illustrated with powerful case examples from Xerox, Boeing, Honda, and Corning, among others, this strategic guidebook examines the best practices for maximizing the full scope of collaboration and value creation. Charting previously unexplored territory, Alliance Advantage presents an enlightening new opportunity to study, understand, and increase the effectiveness of strategic alliances.