Joining Forces : A case study on how the dynamics of strategic alliances unfold in a public-private joint venture

As competitive advantage is becoming more difficult to reach in the intense business world of today, many companies are turning towards cooperation to enhance their performance. A common way to achieve cooperation between firms has been through strategic alliances, where firms can fill their gaps in terms of resources and create common strategies for success. When creating a common legal organization, it is usually done through a joint venture. Joint ventures are often used as a way for private firms to expand internationally. However, lately it is not only the private organizations that are facing this competitive business climate, but the historical view on the public sector as being inefficient and rather bureaucratic in its coordination of business development, has also put an emphasis on markets and competition in the public sector. This has lately resulted in joining forces with the private sector, to create public-private joint ventures. As the literature published on the nature of these public-joint venture is still limited to few studies and cases, this called for further exploration of the phenomena. Thus, this study aimed at exploring the dynamics of strategic alliances in a public-private joint venture. More specifically, this was done by looking at a public-private joint venture consisting of a municipality and the enterprise, using the case of Tillväxt Lidköping AB. By exploring these dynamics, the research wished to gain insight into the motives and objectives of why firms enter, stay and leave a public-private joint venture, as well as success factors and risk of failures. This was done through answering the following research question: How do the dynamics of strategic alliances unfold in a public-private joint venture? Through a qualitative case study with data collected from semi-structured interviews, this study operated inductively but in constant comparison with existent literature to formulate a model of the dynamics of strategic alliance in a public-private joint venture. The model includes a process starting with the motives and objectives to why companies and individuals engage in a public-private joint venture. After, influenced by the motives and objectives, the actual operation of the public-private joint venture including membership, strategies and management is presented, to end the process with impact of growth and cooperation. The practical contributions of this study will help managers of public-private joint venture with tools, such as how to avoid certain pitfalls and fill crucial positions. In term of theoretical contributions, this study added in exploring the gap of public-private joint venture by providing a conceptual model, as well as gave additional insights to how public-private joint ventures relates with social network theory. Moreover, the study provides policy implications, foremost for municipal and governmental bodies on how better access to centralized services can be implemented. Providing one place where all services can be accessed, can if successful facilitate smoother information sharing and enhanced competitive advantage.