Alliance Advantage - Exploring the value creation potential of collaborations

Abstract

The constantly augmenting complexity of technologies and systems, the increased pressure caused by competition, the need for shortening time-to-market and the thereby implied growing risks force organizations to increasingly focus on core competencies. The students will experience hands-on collaboration with industrial partners is a key value creation opportunity for successful ventures

Objective

• Work together with real partner companies • Experience a team teaching approach • Realize the value creation potentials of alliances • Learn underlying theoretical models • Know and apply a basic management framework for collaboration • Identify and understand specific forms • Apply tools hands on in real companies

Content

Based on an EFQM model of the firm (known from the lecture Discovering Entrepreneurship) we will discuss the entrepreneurial management of different types of alliances. In an introductory lecture this working seminar will give an overview of the theoretical framework and explain the concept of the lecture (Sept. 18th 2008). In weeks 2-6 you will work on a first assignment on six different aspects of the underlying framework: strategy and activities, structure and process, culture and people orientation, interaction and roles, risk and trust, knowledge and learning. This first assignment will give you the basics to participate in the second part (Oct. 31st/Nov. 1) of this seminar. There you will present the results of the first assignment and get additional theoretical input to perform the 2nd assignment. In addition the partner companies will present themselves. The second assignment will be to analyze real alliance projects in the partner companies. The final lesson will be used as a best practice exchange together with our industrial partners.

Resources