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With the current trend toward globalisation and the increasing competitive and technological challenges of today's environment the formation of international strategic alliances has become an important part of many firm's international business strategies. Experience with international strategic alliances has shown that they face a number of problems, which can often result in the termination of the alliance. This study, therefore, aims to assess the impact of both behavioural and organisational characteristics on the success of international strategic alliances. The results show that behavioural characteristics play a more significant role in explaining overall alliance performance compared to organisational characteristics. High levels of commitment, trust, coordination, interdependence and communication are found to be good predictors of international strategic alliance success. Conflict, meanwhile, is found to hamper good performance. By contrast organisational characteristics such as structure and control mechanisms are found not to strongly influence the success of international strategic alliances.

Regional economic integration has been a major area of research in the field of international economics and international trade, with little attention being paid to the impact of these economic collaborations on the organizational strategies of firms within the economically integrated regions. By building on the organization‐environment relationship paradigm, this paper aims to address the impact of environmental changes associated with economic integration, market commonality and currency commonality, on the patterns and structures of strategic alliances within members of the economic community.

Using mixed linear models, the study looks at changes associated with the integration of the European Union and their effects on international alliances within the integrated area and among the various member countries.

The findings suggest that the emergence and the adoption of economic integration policies at the country level do impact the patterns and structures of strategic alliances practiced between member countries. Specifically, the adoption of common market policies among members of an economic community has implications on the pattern and structure of strategic collaborative relationships of firms within these member countries.

While regional economic integrations have accelerated, theoretical and empirical research addressing their impact on multinational strategies has yet to catch up.

Learning through international strategic alliances is usually influenced by dispersed locations and cultural difference between the countries of the two firms. This research highlights the importance of contextual factors on learning through international strategic alliances. Based on an empirical study of 271 alliances, our findings reveal that successful alliance learning not only depends on the partner’s openness to share knowledge but also relies on the firm’s capacity to identify and absorb such knowledge. Institutional differences between the countries from where partner firms originate are considered to hinder the alliance learning by decreasing the firm’s absorptive capacity and by enhancing knowledge ambiguity. However, our research suggests that frequent direct communication and high levels of mutual trust and reciprocal commitment between partner firms positively moderate the noxious effects of institutional differences on the alliance learning process.

This study investigates to what extent strategic flexibility of international strategic alliances (ISAs) affects export performance of emerging market small and medium-sized enterprises (ESMEs) via international marketing capability in crises. It also examines whether these ESMEs’ adoption of digital technology strengthens the impact of strategic flexibility of ISAs on international marketing capability.

Based on the international alliance and dynamic capability perspectives on strategic flexibility, the authors develop a conceptual model and empirically examine the mediation and moderation effects between strategic flexibility of ISAs, international marketing capability, export performance and adoption of digital technology. The authors collected survey data from 129 ESMEs located in Pakistan between May 2021 and August 2021 and tested the conceptual model with hierarchical-moderated regression analysis.

The findings suggest that strategic flexibility of ISAs positively impacts on export performance of ESMEs in crises. Moreover, the authors found that international marketing significantly mediates the relationship between strategic flexibility of ISAs and export performance of ESMEs. Also, the adoption of digital technologies significantly moderates the relationship between strategic flexibility of ISAs positively and international marketing capability.

The authors take strategic flexibility of ISAs in the context of the emerging market and how ESMEs enhance export performance in a time of crisis, which extends the prior ESMEs’ international marketing strategy and crisis management literature. In particular, the authors show that strategic flexibility of ISAs is a vital dynamic capability to enhance export performance of ESMEs via international marketing capability and adoption of digital technologies.

We develop a framework that explains the role of knowledge resources in the formation of international strategic alliances by multinational corporations. The focus is on the value and uniqueness of knowledge resources and two types of learning international strategic alliances, exploratory and exploitative. Also, we explain how the institutional environment – a host country's property and contractual rights, rule of law and the institutional distance between the countries of the partnering firms – affects the attractiveness of these two forms of alliances.

This chapter highlights and examines the journey of strategic alliances, how alliances lead to the creation of new alliances, and whether alliances succeed or precede firms' market networks. Moreover, the chapter attempts to identify the market and environmental factors which impact the journey and the end result of alliances. The findings show that before the alliance and in the early strategic alliance phase, firms can have direct and indirect relationships/networks which can lead to the formation of strategic alliances. The other finding is that one of the main factors which determines the journey of strategic alliances is the degree of internationalization of the firm and the market. The journey of alliances was also found to be different in the various groups of Eastern and Central Europe (ECE) countries depending on the pace or degree of adaptation of those countries. It was also found that well-developed networks have a positive impact on the alliance results. Moreover, the chapter also provides evidence that alliances enable firms to defend and strengthen existing networks to build new networks and to penetrate partners' networks. It is finally observed that it is difficult to determine whether alliances succeed or precede networks.

Reports the dilemma faced by Australian universities in their international strategic alliance effort. While the 22 respondent universities espouse such motives as altruism, scholarship, and expansion into new markets as the reasons for entering into international strategic alliances, the true motives appear to be at variance with the former. Arguably, until the contradictions between the espoused and true positions are resolved, Australian universities may not realise the full potential of their international collaborative activities. Suggestions for resolving the discrepancy are offered.

Based on the transaction cost theory, this paper aims to investigate the impact of cultural distance on international strategic alliance formation and its underlying mechanisms.

This paper uses the investment of foreign firms in the Chinese Venture Capital market as an empirical background, Obtaining VC data from Zero2IPO Private Equity, CVsource Investment Database (2001–2015). This paper chooses the Logit regression method, according to Lind’s three-step method to test the inverted U-shaped relationship.

The empirical analysis of foreign venture capital firms invested in China revealed that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between cultural distance and the possibility of international strategic alliances. This relationship is the result of two opposing mechanisms, which are the need and the feasibility of international strategic alliances. In addition, this study further examined the moderating effects of social embeddedness and social reputation, revealing the boundary effects on the complex relationship between cultural distance and possible international strategic alliance formation.

This study focuses on cultural difference, which is a key factor leading to a firm’s transaction costs. Based on the transaction cost theory, this paper investigates the impact of cultural distance on international strategic alliance formation and its underlying mechanisms.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and assess an empirical description of how to respond to the needs of future human resource development, and any strategic alliances that have been made by STP Bandung and Bali to respond to global competition.

This study uses a qualitative naturalistic approach, with descriptive methods and case studies. The data were gathered through interviews, observations, and study of the documents. The sampling technique used was purposive. Data analysis was performed using data display, data reduction, and data verification through triangulation process.

STP Bandung and Bali have carried out various strategic measures through the improvement of both their internal and external environments. Strategic alliances with other institutions are oriented toward the improvement of the quality of education. This is in accordance with the vision and mission of the institution where priorities were put on joint programs, organization of students’ internship programs, support for the development of educational institutions, and optimizing the implementation of the three responsibilities of higher education in Indonesia, both in terms of quantity and quality, along with building a culture of research for lecturers.

This research still needs improvement since there are some limitations in generating its conclusion. Therefore further research is recommended to increase sample number, i.e. by including, among others, students, graduates, employer communities, and region leaders, and also to involve other private, tourism higher education centers.

This study implies that in carrying out its core business, namely, tourism education, STP Bandung and Bali need to strengthen and cultivate the academic and research cultures among faculty members. In conjunction with contributions from research literature and practice, this study confirms the importance of strategic alliances between institutions of tourism education, at the national, regional, and international levels, that are producers of human resources for tourism for the government. Being graduates, they serve as competent members of a government agency responsible for managing a destination or other tourism sectors, at local, provincial, national, regional, and international levels.

This study also implies that the Ministry of Tourism should implement the model of strategic education management through strategic alliances, so as to increase the capacity of the human resources for tourism, thus directly or indirectly contributing to the quality of city/regional or tourism destination.

Research studies on strategic alliance in the field of higher education, especially in the field of tourism are still very limited. This study provides a breakthrough that strategic alliances can not only be done in the business world, but also in the education sector. Results of research on strategic alliances in higher education in Indonesian tourism sector can be used as a reference for higher education providers in tourism at regional and international levels.

The purpose of this study is to examine specific use of strategic alliances and acquisitions for Chinese firms to catch‐up technologically and to enhance their internationalization competence.

The paper offers a conceptual analysis of internationalization through either FDI or strategic alliances. This is a novel approach, as most of the extant literature tends to view internationalization solely through the prism of FDI. The empirical evidence presented in the paper is twofold. First, it analyses empirical data on strategic alliances and acquisitions retrieved from Thomson SDC database, a premium business directory. Second, it also approaches the topic qualitatively, by offering a case study of Chery Automobile Co. Ltd, a Chinese company that has relied heavily on strategic alliances in its internationalization strategy.

First, the study finds statistical evidence of a rising trend of formation of outward strategic alliances by Chinese firms. Second, the authors demonstrate the specific benefit of strategic alliances for Chinese firms to technically catch up and enhance internationalization competence. It is found that strategic alliances give Chinese firms opportunities to learn from front‐runners in terms of gaining technological capabilities, and there are advantages in tagging developing and advanced markets. The main findings suggest that the internationalization of Chinese firms is in a process in which they gradually integrate technology and marketing/logistics alliances. This approach allows for sufficient time to learn and absorb new skills and technology. Moreover, Chery's case indicates that a series of successful international strategic alliances could also generate tremendous bargaining power for Chinese firms when undertaking subsequent international activities.

This paper contributes to the small but growing body of literature on the internationalization of Chinese companies, their technological catching‐up activities. Unlike previous studies that mainly focus on state‐owned Chinese firms' internationalisation through outward FDI (such as M&A), the paper particularly contributes to the exploration of strategic alliances' effectiveness for private and latecomer firms' internationalization. Empirically, the data analysis and case study reflects the benefits for Chinese firms to enter into strategic alliances with European firms in order to enter into European market and to acquire technological capabilities.