Abstract:
International strategic alliances are seen as popular mechanisms for new market entry
and gaining access to resources and technology. Despite their popularity, the failure
rate of strategic alliances still remains high. The causes of strategic alliance failure are
not clearly understood in academic literature. Using an anchoring theory of transaction
cost economics and opportunism, this study investigated the topic of strategic alliance
failure. This is further supported by Park’s and Ungson's integrative model on strategic
alliance failure. Through a phenomenology study, the lived experiences of international
business practitioners operating in Sub-Saharan Africa were studied. The aim was to
create an extension of Park’s and Ungson's model with a specific focus on the
opportunism construct. Forms of opportunism found include opportunism as intentional
deceit, benevolent preference reversal, good faith reprioritisation, over-commitment,
and lastly identity-based discordance. The reasons for alliance failure include poor
partner and cultural fit, inappropriate governance, misalignment of expectations, noncommitment
of roles and responsibilities, and lastly adverse macroeconomic conditions.
These findings are relevant amongst the heavy industrial sector in Sub-Saharan Africa
with prominent representation from Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa
