ABSTRACT
A strategic alliance, as a form of inter-organizational business collaboration, is a
‘cooperative effort by two or more entities in pursuit of their own strategic objective’
(Marks and Mirvis 1998, 9) and may involve equity participation. International alliances
reside at the confluence of national, corporate and occupational cultures (Salk and Shenkar
2001) with varying degrees of cooperation and collaboration. In a dynamic business
environment, strategic alliances are central to the success of organizations, and the
‘capacity to collaborate’ is a core competence of today’s business since ‘no company can
go it alone’ (Doz and Hamel 1998, ix).
