Alliance and E-Business
In today’s business world there are many strategic alliances between organizations. A strategic alliance is an agreement between two or more individuals or corporations who work together in order to accomplish mutual business goals. “The strategic alliance has become a cornerstone of global competitiveness, one that all executives must now understand and manage with skill” (Doz & Hamel, 1998). Forming these alliances is a necessity in today’s business world for many organizations. Strategic alliances can be found in small to large organizations and businesses usually seek alliances in order to obtain advantages that on their own, they cannot achieve.
Some strategies behind an alliance include profitability, competitiveness, reaching new markets and, increased brand awareness. It also includes, expanding customer base, reduction of cost and, tapping into the international market. In addition, it creates sustainability value for an organizations customers and shareholders. An alliance allows most organizations to grow in an industry where otherwise they might have failed. “Alliances cannot be crafted and set on “autopilot”. They require ongoing management of the relationship within a clear strategic framework” (Doz & Hamel, 1998). Another attribute of strategic alliances include trust, commitment and, coordination. “The important point here is that trust creates the feeling that the inter-firm relationship is beneficial for both parties” (Vanpoucke & Vereecke, 2010). In other words, trust will help stump any doubt in order for both parties to benefit from their relationship.
E-business has certainly transformed industries. E-business has come to be known as the new model for doing business. It has widely impacted the way organizations do business today. It brought automation and streamlined internal processes and has also improved communication, levels of collaboration, reduced transaction cost and, improved responsiveness to change. In fact, many organizations have attributed their overall success due to e-business solutions.
References
Doz, Y. L., & Hamel, G. (1998). Introduction. In Harvard Business Press (Ed.), Alliance Advantage: the art of creating value through partnering.
Vanpoucke, E., & Vereecke, A. (2010, November). The predictive value of behavioural characteristics on the success of strategic alliances. International Journal of Production Research, 48(22), 6715-6730.