ABSTRACT
This chapter not only aims to propose an integrated framework for modeling strategic alliances based on multiobjective programming but also intends to guide the subsequent resource allocation decisions of alliance members. It examines the formation of strategic alliances and introduces several economic/management theories-transaction cost theory, resource-dependent theory, and the strategic behavior and organizational learning perspectives. The chapter discusses the mainstream theories on strategic alliances and proposes a new perspective, De Novo programming, which models strategic alliances considering both the plausible synergy and scale effects brought by the cooperation of alliance members. It illustrates a numerical example to adopt De Novo programming for evaluating strategic alliances. If a strategic alliance is taken as a system, transaction cost theory focuses on optimizing a subpart of the system to explain the formation of an alliance; a holistic approach that can cover the whole system's costs or benefits needed.
