Foreword
The market environment in our country is complicated by the effects of the global economy and the “innate disadvantage” of new start-ups in terms of resources and capabilities, which requires that critical functions such as technology development, marketing dissemination, channeling and customer acquisition, be carried out with the full help of external forces, in the face of a window of opportunity that is short-lived。
For start-ups, therefore, building and using strategic alliances to access resources for value creation is an important tool for survival and development。
1. Definition of concepts
1. 1 meaning and type of strategic business alliances
Strategic alliances are cooperative relationships involving exchange, sharing or joint development between two or more independent enterprises to achieve specific strategic objectives and interests. Since the 1970s, strategic alliances have received research attention in the area of strategic management and have been widely recognized as important tools to help achieve strategic objectives and competitive advantages that cannot be achieved by individual firms and to sustain enterprise development and success。
Strategic alliances for start-ups are diverse, but they are essentially an inter-firm community of enterprises that integrate and utilize external resources and capabilities and that collectively create value。
1. 2 definition of the concept of new corporate strategic alliances
In the process of market-based economic development, new and emerging enterprises needed to establish corresponding partnerships in order to make better use of resources. Strategic alliances can enhance the economic power of enterprises, mainly through resource-sharing and risk-sharing, to promote the networking of new and emerging enterprises, which play an important role in their survival and sustainable development。
The so-called alliance risk leads to uncertainty in the external environment of the system where business alliances are affected. When strategic alliances are formed, enterprises are exposed not only to internal and external risks, but also to internal and external risks。
The strategic alliance risk relates only to the enterprises of the alliance members, and the understanding of the risks of the strategic alliance of the enterprises can be understood as the risk of losses to the enterprises of the cooperative alliance members, such as loss of competitive advantage, mergers and the potential for the alliance to fail, due to uncertainty and complexity in the strategic alliance system, the external environment。
2 risks to strategic alliances for start-ups
The operation of strategic alliances is complex and their success or failure can have a direct impact on the performance of start-ups. As noted above, business resources are the least needed for start-ups, so that a good atmosphere and strong strategic alliances can help start-ups generate many business resources and thereby boost their capabilities; while misdirected, internally disharmony strategic alliances can exacerbate the risks to start-ups and even lead to bankruptcy。
Before joining the strategic alliance, start-ups should therefore be fully explored and independent thinking should be maintained in the course of the alliance to ensure the sustainability of the enterprise。
2. 1 control or independence that may affect newly established enterprises
In the area of cooperation, where resources are shared between enterprises, mature enterprises tend to be dominant and active in sharing resources, there is a greater say in influencing the future direction of strategic alliances between the two sides, and disadvantaged start-ups are likely to become subordinates to mature enterprises, lose their control or even their independence。
2. 2 possible leakage of critical knowledge from start-ups and loss of core competitiveness
The basic condition for the survival and development of start-ups, or the realization of alliances, is that both have complementary resource advantages, in which case the initial or future development of start-ups has a certain core of competitiveness, while the failure of start-ups because of their own characteristics, institutional set-ups, staffing, etc., leads to the failure to protect the core of intellectual property rights, leading to the acquisition of critical technologies by other enterprises within the consortium, thus squeezing the market position of start-ups and preventing them from surviving in the market。
2. 3 opportunism by partners
Within the union, enterprises are both cooperative and competitive. This is due to the fact that the alliance of the members of the union is based on the common pursuit of interests, but in the process, some enterprises behave in bad faith, resulting in precarious trust among members。
In practice, a number of enterprises have been left in a vortex of financial resources because of the inappropriate choice of their partners, which has resulted in a serious crisis of confidence for downstream enterprises, while causing significant losses to their property。
2. 4 may affect relations with non-aligned enterprises or create competitors in their own intangibles
Once an enterprise joins a certain strategic alliance, there may be a deterioration of relationships with enterprises outside the union. At this point, there may be hostile and hostile behaviour, in particular the intangible creation of competitors or competitors for themselves, which, if alliances break down, is likely to be squeezed and retaliated by competitors, and which, in turn, threatens the cooperation of start-ups with mature firms。
2. 5 may result in overdependence on partners
The formation of alliances will lead to stronger dependency relations among members in pursuit of common development, which is the advantage of joining the alliance. However, for profit-driven purposes, the risk of annexation may arise when an enterprise member fails to keep pace with development and over-reliance on other members. Thus, joining strategic alliances is not entirely risk-free for enterprises. It is therefore important for enterprises to have adequate risk assessments and advance precautionary measures before joining in order to maximize benefits。
Conclusion
For start-ups, strategic alliances bring financial and resource support and, if fully utilized, lead to good business development。
At the same time, there are risks, which require that start-ups meet sufficient prudential obligations. However, strategic alliances should not be abandoned directly, as they have the corresponding advantages of being a nascent form of organization in the economic market, so research and learning about them should be strengthened, with a view to helping new businesses to reap economic benefits and achieve corporate development through the advantages of strategic alliances。
The situation of different firms varies greatly, and it is impossible to give uniform advice. Newer firms need to base themselves on their own circumstances, choose strategic alliances, and take advantage of the advantages, avoid disadvantages and gain from them the advantage of competing in the market, taking into account the specific circumstances of the union
