BUS 460  Seminar in Strategies & Policies

Albright College

 

Chapter 6 – Lecture Outline

 

I.                   Strategic Alliances and Collaborative Partnerships

 

a)   In a global economy, companies may find themselves in two competitive races:

1.   to build presence in many national markets

2.   to seize opportunities in advancing technology

 

 

b)   Companies may form strategic alliances in which two or more companies join forces to achieve mutually beneficial strategic outcomes.

 

ZENCOS AND ASR ANALYTICS ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

Triangle - Durham - Zencos Consulting LLC and ASR Analytics, LLC (ASR) announced that the two companies have formed a strategic partnership to provide advanced analytics and business intelligence (BI) solutions to new and existing customers.  The partnership will allow the two companies to leverage their strengths, advanced analytics and modeling for ASR and BI reporting for Zencos.

 

 

c)   Strategic alliances fall short of ownership ties.

 

d)   It is becoming increasingly common for companies to pursue their strategies in collaboration with suppliers, distributors, makers of complementary products, and sometimes even select competitors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

II.                Why and how are strategic alliances advantageous?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

III.              Why are many alliances unstable and often break apart?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IV Mergers and Acquisitions

 

1.   A merger is a pooling of two or more companies as equals, with the newly created company  often taking on a new name. (ex. Daimler Chrysler; Wachovia & First Union)

2.   An acquisition is a combination in which one company purchases and absorbs the operations of another.

 

 

a)               Why do companies merge or acquire other companies?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

b)               Mergers sometimes do not live up to expectations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

IV.            Vertical Integration Strategies

 

a)   Vertical integration – extends a firm’s competitive and operating scope within the same basic industry.

 

b)   It involves expanding the firm’s range of activities backward into sources of supply and/or forward  toward end users (customers).

 

 

 

 

c)   What are the strategic disadvantages of vertical integration?