As Enable moves along our virtual university, the next logical step following venture capital and M&A is to deal with strategic alliances. Quietly, strategic alliances are becoming a major part of almost every industry and are driving corporate growth.
Strategic alliances can range from simple joint ventures to complex multi-party and cross cultural transactions. Moreover, strategic alliances are dynamic with new models and structures being generated on a transaction by transaction basis.
Today’s Enable looks at a site on strategic alliances that was created by the leading consulting firm Booz·Allen & Hamilton. Smartalliances.com
covers the subject in great detail at several levels – from general to highly complex transactions. Enable looks at the three main areas of the site: viewpoints, articles and chart of the week.
Viewpoints on strategic alliances
The Viewpoints section contains highly detailed information various aspects of strategic alliances. The most recent Viewpoint – The Allianced Enterprise Breakout Strategy for the New Millennium has just been made available for download. You need to fill out a very basic form and then you can open the PDF.
The theme of this Viewpoint is that the traditional "Command and Control" organizational model of strategic alliances is inadequate to manage the complex set of relationships forming outside the direct control of the corporation. The authors believe that a new organizational model is needed and then they discuss what it looks like, How it works, and how it differs from the traditional command and control organizational model, which has worked so well up to now.
The Viewpoint section also covers:
- The five driving forces behind alliances
- The three Alliance Modes
Filling single and multiple gap deficiencies
Creating integrated products and services
Forming a breakout offering
- Four "Pure Tone" Alliance Models
Franchise model: Deep bench strength
Portfolio model: Hub and spoke
Cooperative model: Mutual benefit
Constellation model: Integrated service offering
A whole slew of articles
The site contains links to
a large number of articles relating to strategic alliances. Just a few examples include:
A Merger Price Premium Doesn't Equal Poor Value. Wall Street Journal (August 15, 1999)
Post Merger Integration -- Why Good Deals Go Bad. Daily Deal (May 24, 2000)
"Post-merger Integration -- What Makes Mergers Work? Strategy & Business (4Q 1999)
Institutionalizing Alliance Skills: Secrets of Repeatable Success. Strategy & Business (2Q 1998)
How Strategic Alliances Work in Biotech. Strategy & Business (1Q 1996)
Strategic Alliances are Hot - and Getting Hotter! mG Management General (February 17, 1999)
Joining Forces. Entrepreneur Magazine (December 1996). Explains the history and meaning of the term "co-opetition" through the use of case studies.
Getting Together CIO Magazine (January 1, 1999). The article includes case studies that illustrate the pluses and minuses of a variety of strategic alliances, with links to useful resources and statistical information
United We Stand. Entrepreneur Magazine (April 1998). The article details the processes, the pros, and the cons of strategic alliances
Chart of the week
In the chart section,
you are provided with data in chart form on topics relating to strategic alliances. The most recent chart deals with ROIs. The charts are archived and include:
- Roadmap to Alliance Success
- US Alliances Becoming More "Strategic"
- Not All Alliances Are Strategic
- High Success Alliance Companies Average 90% Success Rate
- Forces Shaping Alliances -- Filling Capability Gaps
- HP Recognized the Importance in Capturing Strategic Alliance Best Practices
- Alliance Framework-Best Practice Diagnostic
- America Versus Europe and Asia: Key Alliance Success Factors
- A New Business Model Is Emerging That Contains Elements of Control and Cooperation
- Successful Alliance Companies Place Bigger Bets in Their Alliances
- Smaller Firms Are Achieving Even Higher ROIs Than Larger Companies
Smart Alliances should be your first stop in your quest for a successful strategic alliance. The site is updated frequently, so visit it often to keep abreast of the latest trends and didactic information on strategic alliances.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on December 19, 2000.