Comparative statics question with an application
You can obtain a definite answer for $$\text{sign}\left\{\frac{\mathrm{d} S_{1}^{*} }{\mathrm{d} \alpha }\right\}$$ given the assumptions.

From

$$S_{1}^{*} - f\left ( g\left ( S^{*}_{1}, \beta \right ), \alpha \right ) = 0 \equiv F$$

and the Implicit Function Theorem

$$\frac{\mathrm{d} S_{1}^{*} }{\mathrm{d} \alpha } = - \frac{\partial F/\partial \alpha}{\partial F/\partial S^*_{1}} $$

we have  

$$\frac{\partial F}{\partial \alpha} = -\frac{\partial f}{\partial \alpha}$$

and 

$$\frac{\partial F}{\partial S^*_{1}} = 1-\frac{\partial f}{\partial S_2}\cdot \frac{\partial g}{\partial S^*_{1}}$$

For these expressions we know not only the signs but also the magnitudes. The result follows.