Collaborative strategy:: an analysis of the changing world of international airline alliances

Abstract The notion of companies collaborating for their mutual benefit through the formation of strategic alliances has gained credibility in recent years and international airlines have been very active in utilising this form of strategic development. This paper explores the available literature on alliances, explores the underlying motivations for their formation and presents a conceptualisation of the stages involved from their inception to the measurement of success or failure. The paper concludes that the benefits on the part of the airlines appear clear but the potential benefits to be derived by consumers are less obvious. Nevertheless, given the regulatory and legal constraints preventing other forms of development airline alliances, it is argued, are not a transitory feature of the international airline industry but long-term inter-organisational forms and key future trends in their development are presented.

[1]  W. Baumol.  Contestable Markets: An Uprising in the Theory of Industry Structure , 1982 .

[2]  Gregory J. Werden,et al.  Entry, exit, and performance in airline markets , 1994 .

[3]  Karen S. Cravens,et al.  Analysis of co-operative interorganizational relationships, strategic alliance formation, and strategic alliance effectiveness , 1993 .

[4]  D. Mowery,et al.  Strategic alliances and interfirm knowledge transfer , 1996 .

[5]  J. E. Forrest,et al.  Management Aspects of Strategic Partnering , 1992 .

[6]  Mark Hansen,et al.  The Consequences of Strategic Alliances Between International Airlines: The Case of Swissair and SAS , 1993 .

[7]  Pat Hanlon,et al.  Global Airlines: Competition in a transnational industry , 1996 .

[8]  Francis P Mulvey,et al.  International airline alliances An analysis of code-sharing's impact on airlines and consumers , 1995 .

[9]  R. Markowitz,et al.  Immune deficiency syndromes. , 1975, Seminars in roentgenology.

[10]  Donald E. Hatfield,et al.  THE EFFECTS OF CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING ON AGGREGATE INDUSTRY SPECIALIZATION , 1996 .

[11]  Christoph Bronder,et al.  Developing strategic alliances: A conceptual framework for successful co-operation , 1992 .

[12]  B. Garnham.  Alliances and Liaisons in Tourism: Concepts and Implications , 1996 .

[13]  E. Rigsbee.  Developing Strategic Alliances , 1999 .

[14]  R. Gulati,et al.  The dynamics of learning alliances: competition, cooperation, and relative scope , 1998 .

[15]  S. Sengupta,et al.  Organizing Successful Co-Marketing Alliances , 1993 .

[16]  Barry K Humphreys.  The implications of international code sharing , 1994 .

[17]  B. Kogut.  The Stability of Joint Ventures: Reciprocity and Competitive Rivalry , 1989 .

[18]  Patrick E. Murphy,et al.  Ethical and Legal Foundations of Relational Marketing Exchanges , 1993 .

[19]  R. Osborn,et al.  Forms of Interorganizational Governance for Multinational Alliances , 1990 .

[20]  Andrew C. Inkpen.  Learning, knowledge acquisition, and strategic alliances , 1998 .

[21]  Steve W. Selin.  Collaborative alliances: new interorganizational forms in tourism. , 1994 .

[22]  L. R. Christensen,et al.  Economies of Density versus Economies of Scale: Why Trunk and Local Service Airline Costs Differ , 1984 .

[23]  T. French.  Global trends in airline alliances. , 1997 .

[24]  Code-sharing: a summary of the German study , 1995 .

[25]  T. Oum,et al.  AIRLINE ALLIANCES: CURRENT STATUS, POLICY ISSUES, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS. IN: AIR TRANSPORT , 1997 .

[26]  P. Ring,et al.  Developmental Processes of Cooperative Interorganizational Relationships , 1994 .

[27]  Michael Dowling,et al.  Cooperative strategy and new venture performance: The role of business strategy and management experience , 1995 .

[28]  Edwin R. Stafford.  Using co-operative strategies to make alliances work , 1994 .

[29]  David Bruce Weaver.  Ecotourism as mass tourism: contradiction or reality? , 2001 .

[30]  John W. Medcof,et al.  Why too many alliances end in divorce , 1997 .

[31]  J. W. Barnes,et al.  Understanding the Domain of Cross-National Buyer-Seller Interactions , 1992 .

[32]  E. Wallis.  Managing privatization at PowerGen , 1995 .

[33]  Katy Moyer,et al.  SCENARIO PLANNING AT BRITISH AIRWAYS: A CASE STUDY , 1996 .

[34]  L. Cai,et al.  Chinese and British Hotels: Cultural Differences and Management , 2001 .

[35]  Keith W. Glaister,et al.  Strategic Motives For International Alliance Formation , 1996 .

[36]  Chekitan S. Dev,et al.  A Market-Based Approach for Partner Selection in Marketing Alliances , 1996 .

[37]  Peter Lorange,et al.  Why Some Strategic Alliances Succeed and Others Fail , 1991 .

[38]  D. Faulkner.  International Strategic Alliances: Co-Operating to Compete , 1996 .

[39]  R. Mockler,et al.  Type and structure of multinational strategic alliances: the airline industry , 1997 .

[40]  Airline alliances: a catalyst for regulatory change in key markets? , 1997 .

[41]  J. Jarillo.  On strategic networks , 1988 .

[42]  Timothy J. Wilkinson,et al.  Strategic alliances: Choose your partners , 1995 .

[43]  Daniel A. Levinthal,et al.  Duynamics of Interorganizational Attachments: Auditor-Client Relationships , 1988 .

[44]  K. Ohmae,et al.  Managing in a borderless world. , 1989, Harvard business review.

[45]  Haydn Shaughnessy.  International joint ventures: Managing successful collaborations , 1995 .

[46]  M. Bennett,et al.  Strategic alliances in the world airline industry , 1997 .

[47]  Patrick E. Murphy,et al.  Ethical and legal foundations of relational marketing exchanges”, Journal of Marketing, . , 1993 .

[48]  Bernard Garrette,et al.  Determinants of Success in International Strategic Alliances: Evidence from the Global Aerospace Industry , 1995 .

[49]  R. Kanter.  Collaborative advantage: The art of alliances , 1994 .

[50]  Robert E. Spekman,et al.  The dark side of alliances:: Lessons from Volvo–Renault , 1998 .

[51]  John Kay,et al.  Foundations Of Corporate Success , 1995 .

[52]  Paul W. Beamish,et al.  Equity Joint Ventures and the Theory of the Multinational Enterprise , 1987 .

[53]  Bruce A. Walters,et al.  Strategic alliances and joint ventures: Making them work , 1994 .

[54]  M. Porter.  Competition in Global Industries , 1986 .

[55]  R. Allio,et al.  Making alliances work— guidelines for success , 1994 .

[56]  Jan Stiles,et al.  Collaboration for competitive advantage: The changing world of alliances and partnerships , 1995 .

[57]  Lawrence J. White,et al.  ECONOMIES OF SCALE AND THE QUESTION OF "NATURAL MONOPOLY" IN THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY , 1979 .

[58]  D. Mowery.  The relationship between intrafirm and contractual forms of industrial research in American manufacturing, 1900-1940 , 1983 .

[59]  Arvind Parkhe.  Strategic Alliance Structuring: A Game Theoretic and Transaction Cost Examination of Interfirm Cooperation , 1993 .

[60]  J. Reuer.  The dynamics and effectiveness of international joint ventures , 1998 .

[61]  M. Levine.  Is Regulation Necessary? California Air Transportation and National Regulatory Policy , 1965 .

[62]  Andrew C. Inkpen,et al.  Keeping international joint ventures stable and profitable , 1995 .

[63]  Kazem Chaharbaghi,et al.  Strategic alliances in fast-moving markets , 1996 .

[64]  Dawna L. Rhoades,et al.  A typology of strategic alliances in the airline industry: propositions for stability and duration , 1997 .

[65]  G. Hamel.  Competition for competence and interpartner learning within international strategic alliances , 1991 .

[66]  D. Gursoy,et al.  Validating a tourism development theory with structural equation modeling , 2001 .