Wp. Burgers et al., A THEORY OF GLOBAL STRATEGIC ALLIANCES - THE CASE OF THE GLOBAL AUTO INDUSTRY, Strategic management journal, 14(6), 1993, pp. 419-432
The theory articulated in this paper suggests that the desire to reduc
e demand and competitive uncertainty are two separate, important motiv
es for alliance formation. Taking this as a starting point, we predict
the configuration of horizontal alliances that we might expect to obs
erve within an industry when firms experience these uncertainties to d
ifferent degrees. An empirical test of this, theory using data from th
e global auto industry yields results consistent with the view (1) tha
t alliances are a device for reducing both the uncertainties that aris
e from unpredictable demand conditions and those that arise from compe
titive interdependence, and (2) that variation of demand uncertainty a
nd competitive uncertainty across firms explains differentials in both
the intensity and structure of their horizontal alliance activity.