International Strategic Alliances in Malaysia (Paperback)

Malaysia is a successful developing economy with a distinct institutional environment. This book explores (1) the criteria used by Malaysian firms to select their partner, both task related and partner related criteria; (2) the contributions that Malaysian firms and their foreign counterparts bring to the partnership; and (3) management of the inter partner relationship, including the difficulties encountered, how the relationship management varies with the characteristics of the Malaysian partner, and the resulting effects on the process of trust building. Whilst Malaysian firms consider margins, ratios and percentages, relationships have a pre- eminent role in strategic alliances and that relationships are poised between ends and means to ends. It can therefore be surmised that the overall selection process in Malaysia is fundamentally shaped by the manner in which potential alliance partners are initially identified. Case study evidence from a sample of Malaysian firms seems to bear this out.