Strategic Alliance: A Review of Evolution, Measurement, Antecedents, and Research Issues

Strategic alliances have become a core component of modern business strategy, enabling organizations to access new markets, share risks, and foster innovation in an increasingly volatile and interconnected global economy. Over the past four decades, the research domain of strategic alliances has evolved from descriptive case studies to a sophisticated, multidisciplinary field encompassing economics, management, sociology, and organizational theory. This paper provides a review of the strategic alliance literature, tracing its historical roots, theoretical development, measurement evolution, antecedents, and unresolved research issues. Drawing on over 100 scholarly sources and recent bibliometric analyses, the paper highlights major contributors, methodological advancements, and the dynamic, co-evolutionary nature of alliances. It concludes by identifying persistent gaps and suggesting directions for future research.