ABSTRACT
Prior literature on alliance termination tends to focus on its reasons and contrast termination with longevity (Park and Russo 1996). An enduring alliance seemingly offers a valid proxy for alliance success, whereas termination is associated with failure. However, this view of termination ignores common situations, such as those in which fi rms form short-term alliances to achieve specifi c or immediate goals and
then deliberately end them once the alliances fulfi l their purposes or reach a preset date. Of course, alliance failure may also result when alliances do not or cease to achieve their goals, objectives and/or performance expectations (Reuer and Zollo 2005). In this case, alliance termination refers to the dissolution of the relationship because one or more partners withdraws. Before detailing their trajectories, it therefore is important to elaborate on the varied alliance termination types.
