The role of strategic alliances and partnerships in value delivery
Word Count: 1995
In recent times the concept of value has gained salience among academia and business leaders as one of the most pertinent constructs facing business (Ravald and Gröönroos 1996). Within the literature available there is consensus that delivering superior value to customers/suppliers will lead to superior value for the organisation. (Anderson and Narus, 1999; Ravald and Gröönroos 1996; Ulaga 2001) Numerous papers have been published about value concept from different perspectives; that is, from buyers, sellers and buyer-seller perspective (Anderson and Narus, 1999; Ulaga and Chacour, 2001; Rust, Roland, Valarie, and Lemon, 2000; Wilson, David, and Jantrania, 1994; Wilson and David, 1995). However, despite the growing body of value research it has been noted in much of the literature that more knowledge is needed about value construct and more specifically the value delivery in the field of business-to-business (Ulaga 2001).
With the turn of the century, enterprises that once prized independence as omnipotent are finding that the business environment they now find themselves in has been subject to a new business paradigm; meaning, strategic alliances and partnerships and end to end value chains are now becoming seen as viable strategies for competitive advantage in the attempt to deliver superior value (Anderson, James, Jain, Dipak and Chintagunta, 1993). Organisations then can compete as single entities for customers. Such extended organisations reach out not only with business relationships; they must integrate their business processes and information systems (Anderson et al ., 1993). Therefore, in this paper, we look at the value delivery from buyer-seller perspecti ...