Successful alliance management in a developing country

Abstract

Managing strategic alliances in the West is difficult, with a failure rate as high as 70 per cent. Managing strategic alliances in developing countries is made much more difficult by a lack of resources, a shortage of appropriate alliance management training and high environmental turbulence and an information-void environment. Although the failure rate might be higher in developing countries, there are a few emerging success cases. Case study data obtained through in-depth interviews from two successful alliances in Papua New Guinea are presented that point up the lessons that could be learned by alliance managers in the West interested in forging strategic alliances with partners in developing countries. Research data indicates that in addition to managing the alliance environment, organisation context, management culture and processes, coping strategies have to be developed to keep the alliance on track.