Partner Capabilities and Alliance Time Frame: An Analysis of International Strategic Alliances from the CEE

Partner selection is one of the most discussed issues in strategic alliances literature. However, the majority of research has typically focused on generic partner characteristics and presented conceptual models for alliance partner selection, addressing clan image but only limited pieces of the partner selection puzzle. Rooted in the resource-based view, this paper suggests that partner selection is contingent upon the intended time frame of strategic alliances and presents a new and intensive conceptual framework that examines the appropriate partner capability for strategic alliances, in the case of short/medium-term alliances and long-term ones. Based on empirical evidences from 736 alliances in the CEE region, the findings stress the differences between varied partner capabilities in short/medium-term and long-term alliances. Accordingly, the significance of technological capability increases with the number of year’s alliances endured. Moreover, the importance of market capability decreases significantly when alliances last for a longer time frame.