Successful business alliances today are critical to the competitive advantage of many companies. Mastering Alliance Strategy presents state-of-the-art thinking and practices for using partnerships effectively. This essential resource will help you understand and use alliances better, whether you are a new or seasoned alliance professional, a business-development specialist, a line manager, or a top executive. The authors argue that the secrets to success lie not solely in the intricacies of a deal but also in the strategy and organization behind the deal. They draw ideas and tools from years of research and reporting on four elements that are key to an effective alliance strategy: * Designing the alliance and crafting the agreement * Managing the alliance after it is launched * Leveraging a constellation of alliances * Building an internal alliance capability "This is right on target." ( Journal of Product Innovation Management ; 1/1/2005) "A one-stop source of the best advice from the best thinkers on alliances in the past decade." ―John R. Harbison, president, Raytheon Commercial Ventures Inc., coauthor Smart Alliances "In today's environment, creating sustainable value for customers and shareholders requires building effective alliances. This thoughtful book gives practical insights on how to do so with one partner, as well as state-of-the-art thinking on how to manage an entire portfolio of partners. It offers clear steps to help managers at all levels develop their own best practices. In short, it is must-reading for managers in any firm that wants to work with leading-edge, alliance-savvy partners or that is striving to become one itself." ―Steve Steinhilber, vice president, strategic alliances, Cisco Systems "Today, alliances are essential building blocks for companies to achieve stronger and more effective market presence. In Mastering Alliance Strategy , the authors skillfully present a comprehensive guide to designing, managing, and organizing successful alliances." ―Yotaro Kobayashi, chairman of the board, Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. "A great bridge between theory and day-to-day practice. It will be valuable to companies developing an alliance strategy for the first time, as well as to those with substantial experience." ―Dr. Rüdiger Grube, senior vice president for corporate development, DaimlerChrysler AG "Mastering Alliance Strategy is by far the most practical and comprehensive book ever written on building and managing alliances. It will be equally useful to CEOs, line managers, and specialists in any company that has or plans to have alliances." --Sumantra Ghoshal, professor, London Business School; coauthor, Managing Across Borders Successful business alliances today are critical to the competitive advantage of many companies. Mastering Alliance Strategy presents state-of-the-art thinking and practices for using partnerships effectively. This essential resource will help you understand and use alliances better, whether you are a new or seasoned alliance professional, a business-development specialist, a line manager, or a top executive. The authors argue that the secrets to success lie not solely in the intricacies of a deal but also in the strategy and organization behind the deal. They draw ideas and tools from years of research and reporting on four elements that are key to an effective alliance strategy: * Designing the alliance and crafting the agreement * Managing the alliance after it is launched * Leveraging a constellation of alliances * Building an internal alliance capability Written in an accessible style and filled with advice and useful ideas, this book describes models used by dozens of companies and contains work from over fifteen contributors from business, academia, and consulting. Executives at all levels will gain new insights on the fundamentals of planning, negotiating, and governing an alliance, as well as learn how to develop powerful networks of partners and build world-class alliance capabilities. Mastering Alliance Strategy is by far the most practical and comprehensive book ever written on building and managing alliances. It will be equally useful to CEOs, line managers, and specialists in any company that has or plans to have alliances. --Sumantra Ghoshal, professor, London Business School; coauthor, Managing Across Borders Successful business alliances today are critical to the competitive advantage of many companies. Mastering Alliance Strategy presents state-of-the-art thinking and practices for using partnerships effectively. This essential resource will help you understand and use alliances better, whether you are a new or seasoned alliance professional, a business-development specialist, a line manager, or a top executive. The authors argue that the secrets to success lie not solely in the intricacies of a deal but also in the strategy and organization behind the deal. They draw ideas and tools from years of research and reporting on four elem