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This paper aims to identify the partner selection criteria employed both by franchisors and franchisees in master franchise agreements and evaluate how different selection criteria interact within the selection process and influence the decisions taken.

A single embedded case study of an international hotel firm was the focus of the enquiry. Interviews and document analysis were used as the data collection techniques.

The findings reveal that the establishment of franchise partnership involves a mutual and careful evaluation between franchisors and franchisees to assess whether their partnership criteria are compatible. The partner selection approach determines the extent of importance attached to different task‐ and partner‐related selection criteria. In addition, the study identifies the role that different selection criteria play at different stages of the process.

The findings are based on a single case study in the international hotel industry and therefore may not be generalisable to other firms or industry sectors. Moreover, the study comprised master franchise agreements, and this contextual variable may impact on the findings determined.

This paper illuminates the challenges both international franchisors and franchisees face in selecting their partners and proposes that both franchisors and franchisees should employ clearly defined selection criteria, utilise a defined selection process and choose their selection approach carefully in recruiting partners.

This paper cross‐fertilises the strategic alliance and franchise literature to evaluate the interplay of partner selection criteria, process, selection approach and international franchise recruitment. The findings contribute to the understanding of a largely neglected area, franchise partner selection and recruitment, by taking a holistic approach and incorporating the views of both franchisors and franchisees.

This paper considers two important aspects of joint venture (JV) activity between Western firms and local partner firms in Turkey. First, the strategic motivation for JV formation is investigated for a sample of Western partner firms. The relative importance of a set of strategic motives is identified and discussed with respect to the nationality of foreign partner. Second, the paper considers partner selection criteria for the sample using a typology that distinguishes between partner‐related and task‐related selection criteria and also examines the relationship between the relative importance of selection criteria and the nationality of foreign partner.

The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the partner selection criteria reported by maritime firms in Norway. The study aims to analyze how a maritime firm's competitive advantage can be enhanced by the selection of the right partner with reference to a strategic alliance.

A multiple‐case study methodology was used. Archival, survey and interview data were explored relating to the partner selection process reported by Norwegian maritime firms. Primary data were gathered from semi‐structured personal interviews with managers of Norwegian maritime firms.

Case study evidence suggests that the strategic alliances were successful when partners had been carefully selected. As detected elsewhere, successful alliances were associated with partners that had managed to build trustful and honest relationships, had common strategic goals, and partners that supplied resources and competencies. Notably, it was detected that cyclicality in the maritime industry shaped the partner selection process. Trust between partners was used as mechanism to reduce uncertainty relating to the strategic alliance process. Firms seeking long‐term alliances selected partners with substantial capital and financial stability to survive a market's downturn, as well as the resources required for expansion during a recession.

Presented findings have implications for practitioners, especially for managers of shipping firms, banks, shipyards, producers of ship equipment, ship design firms, and ship brokers. Practitioners need to be aware that the rationale for inter‐firm collaboration change over time, and motives are linked to the phase of the maritime cycle. Inter‐firm collaboration provides competitive advantage benefits to firms and collaboration can protect as well as create jobs and can create wealth in maritime communities.

A novel conceptual contribution is the exploration of links between maritime industrial cyclicality and the partner selection process relating to strategic alliances. The study also adds to debates relating to the profiles of internationalizing smaller firms.

This paper aims to contribute towards a better understanding of the partner selection process, which anticipates a successful co-opetition partnership. Co-opetition partnerships refer to developing cooperation efforts between competitors. The scarcity of studies conducted in this field to date provides limited contribution for the understanding of the partner selection process in this, particularly, paradoxical concept.

This study follows a methodology based on systematic combining for the qualitative analysis of four cases of domestic co-opetition in Portugal. A sample range of eight companies was selected for a series of semi-structured interviews. Testimonials were transcribed and data coded for content analysis.

Results indicate that prior personal relationships between decision-makers are facilitators for the implementation of cooperation partnerships with competitors. Based on these findings, this paper proposes a three-step model to explain the process of partner selection for co-opetition partnerships. According to this model, after opting to commence a new coopetitive business alliance, the manager undergoes a first unconscious selection based on his/her own prior personal relationships, followed by a conscious and judicious selection based on specific criteria related to partner’s operational skills, resources, effectiveness and trust.

Given that the sample is entirely formed by companies from one single country, further research would benefit from the inclusion of other countries expressing different business contexts and cultural environments.

The value of paper derives from the comprehensive realization of partner selection for domestic co-opetition as fundamentally a network-related process.

To review the alliance partner selection criteria research in order to shed light on how entrepreneurial firms should choose established firms as alliance partners.

Critical differences between entrepreneurial and established firms are presented to emphasize the special risks in alliances between these two types of firms. Extant literature on partner selection criteria is reviewed to show that adequate research adopting the perspective of entrepreneurial firms is lacking. A list of recommendations is developed for entrepreneurial firms in their choice of established firms as alliance partners. Illustrative cases are presented of both successful and unsuccessful cases of strategic alliances between entrepreneurial and established firms.

Provides evidence that entrepreneurial firms have not been adequately recognized in the research on partner selection criteria in strategic alliances. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, the paper identifies 15 intrinsic and alliancing difference factors between entrepreneurial and established firms.

Five key guidelines are developed to assist entrepreneurial firms in selecting established firms as alliance partners.

This paper fills a gap in the two literatures on entrepreneurship and strategic alliances regarding research‐based guidance available for entrepreneurial firms in the selection of established firms as partners in strategic alliances.

Argues that the motivation involved in partner selection must be distinguished from the motivation to enter into a joint venture; the latter may be considered the “ends” dimension of motivation while the former is concerned with “means”. Thus it is important to distinguish between “task related” factors and “partner related” factors in analyzing the partner selection process. Based on a survey of 42 international joint ventures in Bahrain, respondents rank partner related factors as significantly more important than task factors in selecting a partner. The existence of partner related factors as a separate construct is also confirmed by factor analysis. Further, shows that respondents’ factor scores on four factors are significantly related to the corporate history and characteristics of the corporate partner, and to the personal characteristics of the Chief Executive Officer.

The purpose of this paper is to present a four‐phase dynamic feedback model for supply partner selection in agile supply chains (ASCs). ASCs are commonly used as a response to increasingly dynamic markets. However, partner selection in ASCs is inherently more complex and difficult under conditions of uncertainty and ambiguity as supply chains form and re‐form.

The model draws on both quantitative and qualitative techniques, including the Dempster‐Shafer and optimisation theories, radial basis function artificial neural networks (RBF‐ANN), analytic network process‐mixed integer multi‐objective programming (ANP‐MIMOP), Kraljic's supplier classification matrix and principles of continuous improvement. It incorporates modern computer programming techniques to overcome the information processing difficulties inherent in selecting from amongst large numbers of potential suppliers against multiple criteria in conditions of uncertainty.

The model enables decision makers to make efficient and effective use of the vastly increased amount of data that is available in today's information‐driven society and it offers a comprehensive, systematic and rigorous approach to a complex problem.

The model has two main drawbacks. First, practitioners may find it difficult to match supplier evaluation criteria with the strategic objectives for an ASC. Second, they may perceive the model to be too complex for use when speed is of the essence.

The main contribution of this paper is that, for the first time, it draws together work from previous articles that have described each of the four stages of the model in detail to present a comprehensive overview of the model.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights on the franchise partner recruitment process and decision‐making criteria used to select partners. It aims to investigate the process and parameters considered by franchisees in selecting potential international hotel organizations as partners. The success of such choices influences growth of the firms and consequently affecting industry and economy.

In‐depth semi‐structured interviews with owners, directors, vice presidents and mangers of the franchisee organizations were deployed.

Findings suggest that partner selection is a multidimensional activity involving several key stages. Indian franchisees use profitability, brand name, operations support as decision‐making criteria while selecting their partners.

Differences occur at various stages of partner selection. A proper understanding of partner selection dynamics and careful consideration of criteria's like culture, organizational values, pricing, experience, etc. would result in a better building of relationship.

The paper highlights the complexity of the process and the decision‐making criteria from a franchisee's perspective. From a practical perspective, it could be of value to future and existing international hotel chains using franchising as a mode of expansion.

Selecting an appropriate partner is a vital and strategic decision-making process in any supply chain collaboration initiative. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and explore the key factors considered by manufacturers in the selection of an appropriate retailer(s) for collaboration and collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) implementation and the relationships between these factors.

A comprehensive literature review and experts’ views are applied to identify the main retailer selection and evaluation factors for CPFR implementation. A fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory approach is then used to rank and analysis the interaction among identified factors. The findings are finally evaluated using a case study from a high-tech industry.

The most important partner selection factors comprising of five dimensions and 24 factors are introduced. Of the identified criteria, three factors: manufacturer’s familiarity with the retailer, workforce skills and training and customer service orientation and capability have been identified as critical when selecting retailers for CPFR implementation. The technological capabilities dimensions are identified as the only net cause dimension which affects all other dimensions and its importance and role in simplifying and enhancing the speed and flexibility of CPFR implementation.

The paper identifies practical retailer selection factors for CPFR implementation and the causal relationships between factors. Developed retailer selection dimensions and criteria will assist manufacturers and retailers in understanding the role these factors play in CPFR implementation. This will also assist in appropriate retailer(s) selection by manufacturers.

This paper contributes to the literature on CPFR and tackles the important issue of selecting appropriate partners by developing retailer selection dimensions and criteria in CPFR implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a meta-model that systematically aggregates and organizes research on “partner selection” in interorganizational relationships (IORs), which is scattered across several disciplines, to help future researchers explore various aspects of this control mechanism in a more consistent manner. This paper also aims at critically reviewing each aspect of this control mechanism examined in the prior literature and identifying important research trends.

This paper conducts a comprehensive review and in-depth analysis of the key theoretical and empirical research findings on partner selection in IORs by identifying 172 papers across 46 journals that specifically discuss this control mechanism. A meta-model approach is adopted to review and identify the shortcomings in extant research and provide guidance to future researchers on exploring unanswered research questions. Moreover, maps are constructed using the Luft and Shields’s (2003) approach to graphically present the causal-model forms examined in this topic area.

This meta-model shows how the research on partner selection in IORs is scattered across different disciplines, resulting in its inconsistent evolution with researchers, in many cases, not being able to effectively synthesize contributions from fields that are not their own or not closely allied. The causal-model forms also enable rapid tracing of what has been researched.

There has been considerable research on control mechanisms in IORs till date. However, “partner selection,” which is an important control mechanism, has received little attention and is often neglected. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first to develop a meta-model to consolidate knowledge on this topic that is important for further advancement of research.