Strategic alliances and models of collaboration

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to engage in a comprehensive review of the research on strategic alliances in the last decade. Design/methodology/approach - After presenting a typology of diverse alliance governance forms, reviews recent analyses of alliance formation, implementation management, and performance outcomes of collaborative activities. Findings - Strategic alliances developed and propagated as formalized interorganizational relationships. These cooperative arrangements represent new organizational formation that seeks to achieve organizational objectives better through collaboration than through competition. Practical implications - The paper provides future research directions on partner selection, networks patterns and processes, understanding the integration in alliances through fusion, fission, and how to manage developmental dynamics. Originality/value - Concludes with some future directions for theory construction and empirical research.