Alliance Brand: Fulfilling the Promise of Partnering

FOREWORD BY JEFF ALEXANDER, SEEDA xiii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xv

PREFACE xix

PART I USING ALLIANCES TO CREATE VALUE 1

1 HOW VALUE AND ADVANTAGE AFFECT FIRM ACTIVITIES 3

What is value 3

Understanding competitive advantage 6

2 UNDERSTANDING ALLIANCES 13

Alliance ambiguity 13

Defining alliances 14

What alliances are not 16

Assets are what you access 17

Alliances pervade the value chain 18

Alliances have differing values and importance 21

Partners come from various sources 24

Complex relationships 26

3 FORCES DRIVING FOR ALLIANCES 29

Customer demands and industry standards 30

Increasing pace of change with growth and cost pressures 31

Regulation and governance 33

Increasing M&A challenges 35

Capital, size, learning and competitive threat 36

4 WHAT WINNING ALLIANCES LOOK LIKE 39

Alliance spirit 39

Building trust 40

What an organisation that wins with alliances does for success 47

5 FORCES CHALLENGING ALLIANCE SUCCESS 53

Alliance failure rates 53

Other forces challenging success 60

6 ALLIANCE BRAND 67

Reputation in context 67

Brand in context 70

Alliance brand; a timely initiative 72

Examples of alliance brands 76

Getting results, reputation and alliance brand status 80

Does your organisation need an alliance brand? 82

PART I SUMMARY 85

PART II HAVING A CAPABILITY TO PARTNER 87

7 CLARITY ON STRATEGY AND DIRECTION 91

The importance of clarity on strategy and direction 92

Pitfalls to avoid 96

Achieving clarity on strategy and direction 98

How to ensure the strategy and direction create value 100

8 CLARITY ON CORE COMPETENCES 105

The importance of clarity on core competences 106

Defining core competences 107

Effective internal analysis 110

The challenges of internal analysis 121

What happens next 122

9 ABILITY TO MAKE EFFECTIVE STRATEGIC CHOICES 125

Alliances are only one option 125

Strengths and weaknesses of other options 126

Bringing it together in a coherent framework 129

10 ATTRACTIVENESS OF ASSETS 135

Using assets effectively 135

Leveraging assets 140

Identifying assets 140

Assessing values 142

Conducting asset risk assessments 144

Setting the framework for use and monitoring its effectiveness 146

11 ABILITY TO COLLABORATE INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY 149

Collaborative cultures 149

Factors affecting collaboration 152

12 ABILITY TO GOVERN EFFECTIVELY AND MANAGE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIPS 177

View increasing legislation as opportunity not threat 178

Dealing effectively with complex relationships 183

Managing reciprocity 191

13 EFFECTIVENESS OF ALLIANCE INFRASTRUCTURE 193

Ability to segment, measure and manage overall portfolio performance 194

Programme fit and importance within the firm 204

Resources focused on alliance activity 208

Ease of doing and not doing business with other parties 223

Proposition attractiveness 227

Ability to select the right partners and relationships 232

Ability to deliver on alliance commitments 234

Ability to develop, protect and share knowledge 239

PART II SUMMARY 243

PART III WINNING WITH ALLIANCES 245

14 PHASE 1: PRE-ALLIANCE 249

Context 249

Phase 1 aims 250

Output A: forces pushing for the alliance 250

Output B: alliance as the right choice 252

Output C: headline benefits 253

Output D: headline risks 253

Output E: sponsor identified and stakeholders on board 254

Output F: support resources and costs 257

Progress to Phase 2 257

Pitfalls to avoid 258

Summary of tools needed for Phase 1 258

15 PHASE 2: PRE-PARTNER 261

Context 261

Phase 2 aims 262

Output A: alliance team alignment 262

Output B: attractive value proposition for the participants 266

Output C: organisation readiness 275

Output D: ideal partner characteristics 278

Output E: engagement plan and partner selection 283

Output F: stakeholder and risk management 288

Progress to Phase 3 288

Pitfalls to avoid 288

Summary of tools needed for Phase 2 290

16 PHASE 3: WITH-PARTNER PLANNING 293

Context 293

Phase 3 aims 294

Output A: compelling value proposition and targets aligned 294

Output B: complete mutual due diligence 299

Output C: effective relationship architecture designed 300

Progress to Phase 4 314

Pitfalls to avoid 314

Summary of tools needed for Phase 3 316

17 PHASE 4: ALLIANCE LAUNCH 317

Context 317

Phase 4 aims 318

Output A: project and change management 319

Output B: announcing the alliance 321

Progress to Phase 5 322

Pitfalls to avoid 322

Summary of tools needed for Phase 4 323

18 PHASE 5: WITH-PARTNER DELIVERY 325

Context 325

Phase 5 aims 326

Outputs A and B: results and relationships 326

Progress to Phase 6 332

Pitfalls to avoid 332

Summary of tools needed for Phase 5 333

19 PHASE 6: ALLIANCE REVIEWS 335

Context 335

Phase 6 aims 336

Output A: objective assessment 336

Output B: actions and next steps 341

Progress 342

Pitfalls to avoid 343

Summary of tools needed for Phase 6 343

20 THE JOURNEY TO ALLIANCE BRAND AND WINNING ALLIANCES 345

Getting started 346

Standing out from the crowd 349

ALLIANTIST services 350

Concluding remarks 351

APPENDIX ALLIANCE BRAND QUICK TEST 353

REFERENCES 357

INDEX 363