Business alliances, shared resources and environmental uncertainty: A qualitative study

Globalisation and competitiveness among companies have been increasing, leading many companies to be unable, in isolation, to meet the demands of markets in constant turbulence. The business model based on isolated competition has given way to establishing alliances between companies, allowing them to face the uncertainty and complexity of the changing environment more easily. A growing number of companies depend on forming alliances to access the necessary resources and thus achieve strategic objectives. Following on from the study by Prabhudesai et al. (2022), the present study aims to determine how the different types of resources available to a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), in conjunction with the uncertainty of the environment perceived by owner-managers, affect alliance formation. To achieve this goal, a qualitative thematic approach/methodology was used, combining two theoretical perspectives, Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) and Resource Based View (RBV), taking into account the uncertainty of the environment and the resources held. Based on interviews with managers of three companies and analysis of internal documents, the results show that the companies’ resources and the uncertainty of the environment trigger alliance formation. This study distinguishes between the two types of resources, tangible and intangible, and explains how the interaction of resource type and environmental uncertainty affects alliance formation.