Simple Rules for Making Alliances Work

Jonathan Hughes and Jeff Weiss

Corporate alliances are growing in number--by about 25% a year--and account for up to a third of revenues and value at many companies. Yet some 60% to 70% of them fail. What is going wrong? Because alliances involve interdependence between companies that may be competitors and may also have vastly different operating styles and cultures, they demand more care and handling than other business arrangements.

The authors have developed five principles--based on their two decades of work with alliances--to complement the conventional advice on alliance management.

 

Published 2007