Strategic alliances in food and beverage and executive recruiting industries

Strategic alliances, one component of a total quality management program, break down linkages of a supply chain and help alliance partners to address new markets that could not be economically satisfied by a single firm. In recent years, through numerous press releases and anecdotal references, there have been an increased number of reported strategic alliances. However, there have been no systematic studies of the prevalence and impact of strategic alliances in specific industries and no way to obtain information on the costs and benefits of these formal relationships. This current research addresses these gaps. As part of a long‐term longitudinal research program covering diverse industries, two different industries, one in products (food and beverages) and the other in services (executive recruiting) were studied to determine the extent of penetration and effectiveness of strategic alliances. This paper presents examples of strategic alliances and the survey results describing penetration, types of alliances, business benefits, and expected costs.