Joint ventures

There’s no question that the Internet is overturning the old rules about competition and strategy. But what are the new rules? Many of them can be found in the concept of syndication, a way of doing business that has its origins in the entertainment world but is now expanding to define the structure of e-business. As companies enter syndication networks, they’ll need to rethink their products, relationships, and even their core capabilities.

Collaboration between competitors is in fashion. General Motors and Toyota assemble automobiles, Siemens and Philips develop semiconductors, Canon supplies photocopiers to Kodak, France’s Thomson and Japan’s JVC manufacture videocassette recorders. But the spread of what we call “competitive collaboration”—joint ventures, outsourcing agreements, product licensings, cooperative research—has triggered unease about the long-term consequences. A strategic alliance […]

For generations, Procter & Gamble generated most of its phenomenal growth by innovating from within--building global research facilities and hiring the...

If you think you need to keep your Internet initiatives separate from your traditional business, think again. Many of the most innovative Internet players are integrating their virtual and physical operations. The key to success, they’ve found, lies in how you carry out the integration.

Many companies view each negotiation as a separate situation. But companies that take a more coordinated approach are making better deals and forging stronger relationships.

What good is a great program if the organization is collapsing?

Outsourcing may make you more flexible. But it could also undermine your ability to innovate.

Regulation is back, but you won’t see a return to FDR-style controls. Instead, expect a new set of tools designed to coax, not curb.

JVs are subject to far less public exposure - and fewer quotas and disclosure requirements - than other businesses.

Academic–industry alliances have been around long enough to sprout their own ivy, yet these staples of technology innovation have undergone little innovation themselves. Now a few companies are pioneering ways to get more out of university research. One particularly successful model comes from Porsche, which has brought academic brainpower inside. A few years ago, Porsche, […]

In an age when nothing is constant, strategy should be defined by narrative—plots, subplots, and characters—rather than by maps, graphs, and numbers.

A 2004 McKinsey survey of more than 30 companies reveals that at least 70% of them have major alliances that are underperforming and in need of restructuring....

They're hoping that they make more sense together than apart.

Traditionally, business viewed the social sector as a dumping ground for spare cash, obsolete equipment, and tired executives. But today smart companies are approaching it as a learning laboratory.

Rivals are working together more than ever before. Here’s how to think through the risks and rewards.

It is futile for big businesses to try to reform their manufacturing operations without the strong support of suppliers. To create technology intensive products—and what product isn’t these days—U.S. manufacturers spend, on the average, 56 cents of each sales dollar purchasing production materials—and that amount is growing. At the same time, JIT assembly operations require […]

Liu Peijin is the president of Almond China, a subsidiary of the German company Almond Chemical. Almond China's joint venture with Chongqing No. 2 Chemical...

A vodka entrepreneur considers the value of his cousin’s contribution to the company.

Reprint: R0607F Although companies devote considerable time and money to managing their sales forces, few focus much thought on how the structure of the...

Sony's chairman addresses the present deterioration of U.S.-Japan relations and offers his view of how the two countries can patch up their differences...