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TELL ME NOWYour partner in the provision of Research & Strategic Business Information www.tellmenow.com.au: 

TELL ME NOW Your partner in the provision of Research & Strategic Business Information www.tellmenow.com.au Friends or Foe: Strategic alliances in the noughties Paper presented at Rivers of knowledge 9th Specials, Health and Law Libraries Conference 26 - 29 August 2001

TELL ME NOW: 

TELL ME NOW Friends or Foe: Strategic alliances in the noughties What is a strategic alliance Business view of strategic alliances Types of alliances Historical alliances in Library and Information Science Success factors Reasons for failure Expand service offerings through alliances - external Expand service offerings through alliances - internal Conclusion

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What is a strategic alliance A common strategy is developed in unison and a win = win attitude is adopted by all parties the relationship is reciprocal with each partner prepared to share specific strengths with each other a pooling of resources for mutual gain (John Harbison - Booz Allen Hamilton) a long term relationship where participants co-operate and willingly modify their business practices to improve joint performance (Whipple & Frankel Journal of Supply Chain Management) Friends or foe

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Friends or foe Business view of strategic alliances Alliances are preferred by companies entering new businesses, new geographies or accessing new distribution channels Simple and flexible contractual alliances and consortia are better received than complicated equity ventures Alliances have gained popularity in the last 10 years due to the Internet and the associated e-business issues. McKinsey study showed that 50% of alliances are successful, measured by stock price movements following the announcement. (Ernst & Halevy - McKinsey Quarterly 2000)

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Friends or foe Types of alliances Customer and supplier Competitor Geographic Sales alliances Employees

Friends or foe: 

Friends or foe Historical alliances in Library and Information Science Shared cataloguing - ABN Shared purchasing - Technilib ILL - Ilanet Joint catalogues and resources sharing – CAVAL.

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Friends or foe Success factors Open communication. Trust Commitment by senior management Ability to meet performance objectives Clear goals Partner compatibility Adequate resourcing

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Friends or foe Reasons for failure Unclear goals and objectives Picking the wrong partner Not enough commitment by senior management. Inadequate resourcing Closed communication channels. Changing company circumstances.

Friends or foe: 

Friends or foe Expand service offerings through alliances - External IT vendors - innovative systems to deliver information Consolidation services - journals & books Business information services - extra subject specialisation Online vendors - intranet solutions

Friends or foe: 

Friends or foe Expand service offerings through alliances - Internal IT department - Knowledge Management Systems Intranets HR & Training - Intranets Records Management - One stop shop for documents Accounts - Co-ordination of Information Supplies

Friends or foe - Conclusion: 

Friends or foe - Conclusion Alliances - Friends not foe? Enhance capabilities Increase service offerings Gain exposure to non- clients Encourage teamwork Become the Organisations one stop ‘Information’ shop