Assessing the performance of strategic alliances:: matching metrics to strategies

For many organizations, the current business environment compels the use of collaborative alliances as an important component of strategy. Consequently, the need to assess the performance of these alliances becomes a priority as more and more companies enter into such relationships. Analysis of alliance success during the last decade indicates that performance evaluation is a critical success factor, and the reality is that many companies do not develop and implement formal performance evaluation processes. It is often difficult to create a formal evaluation process due to the unique nature of the alliance structure. We propose the use of the balanced scorecard as a means to develop a formal assessment approach that links performance evaluation to the objective of the alliance. The result is a generic template that can be adapted to the specific alliance evaluation requirements of a particular organization.