Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning pdf ebook

Choice of partners: which potential partners are available, and what basis do we have 
for believing that we could create an environment of trust, commitment and cooperation 
between the members of the alliance (Cravens et al., 1997)?
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Facilitators: are the circumstances and environment favourable for a partnership?
Lambert et al. (1996) suggest that partnerships are more likely to be successful if the 
following conditions prevail:
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corporate compatibility: the cultures and business objectives of the partners must mesh;
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managerial philosophy and techniques: are the partners’ organisational structures, 
attitudes towards employees and methods of working compatible?
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mutuality: are there equally important benefits for both partners?
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symmetry: are the partners similar types of company who understand each other?
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exclusivity: are the partner organisations willing to shut out others who are not 
part of the network?
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shared competitors: partnerships work best as an alliance against a common foe;
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prior history: experience in successful collaboration is a plus;
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shared end-user: when partners serve the same customer, collaboration is likely to 
be more successful.
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Components: these are the activities and processes that management establishes and controls 
throughout the life of the partnership, and effective partnerships understand these from the 
outset. This includes arrangements for joint planning, joint operating controls, communi-
cations between partners, equitable risk/reward sharing, facilitating trust and commitment 
between partner organisations, a contract acceptable to both sides, the definition of the scope 
of the partnership and clarity about the financial investments to be made by partners.
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