Business alliances at Eli Lilly: a successful innovation strategy

Abstract

Purpose

Eli Lilly's director of alliance management tells how the company has learned to make a success of its partnership strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

The author describes best practices and key principles.

Findings

The Lilly process has proven successful – of the last six products the firm has launched, four are promoted with a partner.

Practical implications

Lilly has developed a “three‐dimensional fit” analysis that helps the firm identify elements of strategic fit, cultural fit and operational fit between Lilly and a partner company.

Originality/value

Lilly describes how the elements of their alliance program increase the likelihood of success for individual partnerships and how a continuous learning process contributes to the success of future alliances.

Citation

Stach, G. (2006), "Business alliances at Eli Lilly: a successful innovation strategy", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 34 No. 5, pp. 28-33. https://doi.org/10.1108/10878570610684810