Strategic alliances: A concept for global and national marketing

Abstract

This paper explores the steps countries around the world have taken to assist their manufacturing and service sectors to set up profitable strategic alliances based on their own needs and nationalistic traits. It also examines programs undertaken in Canada at the federal, provincial and local level to nurture strategic alliancing as the stepping stone to global, national and local marketing in the 1990's and into the upcoming millennium. Using a combination of primary and secondary data, the author provides an unbiased appraisal of Canada's efforts in the field of strategic alliancing. The paper concludes with recommendations to form strategic alliances between the national, provincial, regional, municipal governments, by working in close cooperation with industrial associations, specific industrial sectors, universities and the service sector.

Keywords: strategic alliance, manufacturing, service sector, clusters, networks