Strategic Alliances in Eastern and Central Europe

300 Pages·2003·1 MB·English

by  Peter Gottschalk

STRATEGIC ALLIANCES IN EASTERN
AND CENTRAL EUROPE
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT SERIES
Series Editor:Pervez N. Ghauri
Published
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STRATEGIC ALLIANCES IN
EASTERN AND CENTRAL
EUROPE
BY
AKMAL S. HYDER
University of Gävle, Sweden
DESALEGN ABRAHA
University of Skövde, Sweden
SERIES EDITOR
PERVEZ N. GHAURI
2003
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Printed in The Netherlands.
To the memory of
Blata Gebrekidon Weldegaber, Bofta Hailu, Tekeste Gebrekidan, Abraha
Gebrekidan and Timnit Gebrekidan
Desalegn Abraha
Syed Abdul Halim and Khurshid Alam Jahangir
Akmal Hyder
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank many people who have encouraged and assisted us in the
development process of this book. First and foremost we are grateful to
Professor Jan Johanson who has inspired us all the way with guidance and
research ideas relating to international business. Our colleague Lars Hjärne
deserves special thanks for being a source of continuous support and a
discussion partner on research and practical issues.
Knowing about the Swedish firms engaged in alliances in Eastern and
Central Europe has been a difficult and time-consuming job. The Swedish
Export Council provided us with important information about Swedish
investment in ECE and guidelines in localizing right firms. Our thanks go
therefore to the Swedish Export Council in Stockholm and its branch offices
in many ECE countries. Even Swedish embassies in some ECE countries have
made a significant contribution in this regard. We also owe a great debt to a
number of ECE embassies in Stockholm for providing us with a list of Swedish
firms engaged in alliances in the region. Further, we are highly grateful to the
managers of the Swedish firms who offered themselves to be interviewed for
hours being constrained with their tight schedules and other business
engagements.
We are very grateful to Professor Pervez N. Ghauri, editor of the series, for
his invaluable suggestions in planning, developing and getting this book
completed. We would also like to thank administrative editors at Elsevier
Science Ltd., Becky Lewsey and Debbie Raven for support and practical
guidance while the manuscript of the book was being prepared. Our
appreciation goes also to our young colleagues Nina Shamirani, Linda
Andersson and Jenny Wiklund for their valuable support with layout, figures
and tables, and going through the manuscript and other details.
Our family partners Anjuman Hyder and Zayd Tsegai deserve special thanks
for their patience, encouragement and support in the efforts to make this book
viii Acknowledgments
possible. Our heartiest appreciation goes to our beloved children Bana,
Jonathan, Fanus, Zelib Desalegn, and also Afif, Labib and Raqiq Hyder.
Akmal S Hyder
Desalegn Abraha
Contents
Series Editor’s Preface xvii
Preface xix
PART 1: INTRODUCTION AND FOUNDATION 1
1. Background of the Study 3
1.1. Introduction: Strategic Alliances 3
1.2. Eastern and Central Europe (ECE) 5
1.3. Importance of ECE and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) 6
1.4. Differences between ECE and Western Economies 7
1.5. Strategic Alliances and ECE 8
1.6. Aims of the Study 9
1.7. Research Issues 11
1.8. Limitations 12
1.9. Disposition 13
References 14
2. Knowledge of Strategic Alliances 17
2.1. Definition, Classification and Motives 17
2.2. Some Theoretical Explanations 19
2.3. Learning in Strategic Alliances 21
2.4. Resources and Strategic Alliances 23
2.5. Network Development and Strategic Alliances 25
2.6. Summary 26
References 27
3. Methodological Discussion 31
3.1. Research Strategy 31
3.1.1. Why This Topic? 31