Strategic alliances are no longer a strategic option but a necessity in man
y markets and industries. Dynamic markets for both end products and technol
ogies, coupled with the increasing costs of doing business, have resulted i
n a significant increase in the use of alliances. Yet, managers are finding
it increasingly difficult to capture value from alliances. In this paper,
we present a model that describes the knowledge resource exchange between a
lliance partners. This model focuses on the different dimensions of knowled
ge resources (tacitness, specificity, and complexity) and their associated
value implications, as well as the different roles of the partner based on
its position within an industry network (complementor, competitor, supplier
, customer, or other). We also argue that in order to capture and internali
ze knowledge obtained through an alliance, a firm must have an alliance lea
rning capability. We illustrate the use of this model in the computer indus
try by analyzing the publicly announced alliances of Dell Computer Corporat
ion and Sun Microsystems, Inc. By applying our resource exchange model, we
were able to analyze the alliance strategy for each firm and to understand
the alignment between the announced business strategy and alliance strategy
for each firm. The findings suggest that what is important is not necessar
ily a particular alliance strategy, but rather an alignment between allianc
e strategy and business strategy.