Cooperative Alliances and Competitive Strategies in Small Manufacturing Firms

Abstract

This study extends existing work in the area of interorganizational relationships by exploring the interaction between the strategic posture of small firms and their propensity to form cooperative linkages. The most critical finding is that most small firms do use cooperative strategies, and that these strategies are used differentially by different strategic types. However, it is unclear whether there is a direct relationship between the competitive postures, interorganizational strategies, and small firm performance.