Creating Profit Through Alliances - business models for collaboration E-book | 页面 7

Introduction
Why are some companies more successful than
others and how can alliances contribute to this
success? I have spent the past few years researching
these questions, in search of practical answers. It's
quite easy to perform analyses and to devise
descriptive structures; but what guidelines and
directives can be extracted from scientific research
and the operational experience of companies
worldwide?

In this book I wish to guide you from the theoretical
background of the creation of value to the more
practical considerations of forging an alliance,
including the distribution of the newly created value.
This book is written for those that are involved in
forging and managing alliances, varying from board
members and strategists to business development
and alliance managers. The overall structure of the
chapters and paragraphs is shown in Figure 1.

Chesbrough1 has formulated a definition of a
business model that is extremely useful to keep in
mind when assessing the possibility of an alliance.

Chapter 1 starts with the principles of creating value
for your company. The key to above average profits is
differentiation. The concept of the value network – in
contrast to the value chain – may help you decide
where you want to differentiate yourself from the
competition. Porter and Treacy & Wiersema are
significant contributors to strategies on how to
differentiate. However, the availability of information
and capital ha s increased tremendously over the last
decade, and some of their assumptions no longer

Business models create value*
and capture a portion of that value
* by defining a series of activities from raw
materials to the final consumer

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Competitive
strategy reviewed

Alliances as
strategy accelerator

Creation
of value

Distribution
of value

The formal
agreement

Differentiation
leads to profit

Which competences
do you have?
- and need?

Additional
value drivers

Decide where to
differentiate in
the value network

Decide how to
differentiate:
generic strategies
and their current
validity

Alliances versus
other sourcing
methods

The process of
forging an alliance
Ten types of
alliances

Customer relevance
Unique product
Cost advantages
Participating
in a network

Distribution agreement
Franchising
Proposition alignment
Collaborative offering
Co-branding
Joint R&D
Technology licensing
Shared investment

Reciprocal hiring agreement
Unusual supplier risk

Contract or
Joint Venture
Intellectual
property
Four complicating
factors
Terminating the
alliance

Figure 1. Overall structure of the book

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