best technology and improved market penetration, while the focus was always on the product. In the 1980s, strategic alliances aimed at building economies of scale and scope. The involved enterprises tried to consolidate their positions in their respective sectors. During this time the number of strategic alliances increased dramatically. Some of these partnerships lead to great product successes like photocopiers by Canon sold under the brand of Kodak, or the partnership of Toshiba and Motorola whose joining of resources and technology lead to great success with microprocessors. In the 1990s, geographical borders between markets collapsed and new markets were enterable. Higher requirements for the companies lead to the need for constant innovation for competitive advantage. The focus of strategic alliances relocated on the development of capabilities and competencies. Goals of strategic alliances All-in-one solution Flexibility Acquisition of new customers Add strengths, reduce weaknesses Access to new markets+technologies Common sources Shared risk Advantages/disadvantages Advantages For companies there are many reasons to enter a strategic alliance: Shared risk: partnerships allow the companies involved to offset their market exposure. Strategic Alliances probably work best if the companies' portfolios complement each other, but do not directly compete. Shared knowledge: sharing skills (distribution, marketing, management), brands, market knowledge, technical know-how and assets leads to synergistic effects, which result in pool of resources which is more valuable than the separated single resources in the particular company. Opportunities for growth: using partners' distribution networks in combination with taking advantage of a good brand image can help a company to grow faster than it would on its own. The organic growth of a company might often not be sufficient enough to satisfy the strategic requirements of a company, that means that a firm often cannot grow and extend itself fast enough without expertise and support from partners Speed to market: speed to market is an essential success factor In nowadays competitive markets and the right partner can help to distinctly improve this. Managing complexity: as complexity increases, it is more and more difficult to manage all requirements and challenges a company has to face, so pooling of expertise and knowledge can help to best serve customers. Innovation: the parties in an alliance can jointly determine their mutual desired outcomes and craft a collaborative contract that features incentives designed to spur investments in innovation. Costs: partnerships can help to lower costs, especially in non-profit areas like research and development.