International strategic alliances in the Iranian pharmaceutical industry: an analysis of key success and failure factors

This study aims to identify key success/failure factors in international strategic alliances (ISAs) in the Iranian pharmaceutical industry, an area which has remained largely unexamined. The literature review, and an expert panel's views, led us to study 33 success factors. These factors, based upon their importance in strategic and structural configuration of the alliance formation process, were grouped as content and process-oriented. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used for data collection and analysis. The results confirmed that all 33 factors are effective in alliance success, which is an extension of earlier research. The study reveals 8 of the most important success factors, and 11 of the most prevalent failure factors. The findings also showed that six of the eight most important success factors are process-oriented variables. This confirms that trust, mutual understanding and developing strong inter-organisational relationships are extremely important in the success of alliances in the Iranian Pharmaceutical industry. However, 8 of 11 failure factors are content-oriented, which means that the failed alliances mainly had problems in the alliances' strategic and structural design. The qualitative study supports the quantitative results and adds to the high importance of the soft aspect of the alliances' success including: the culture of collaboration, open-mindedness, relationship-building ability, parties' proper knowledge of each other's business culture/working attitudes, and effective communication. Besides, in Iran, the local government and public institutes have significant impact on the success of the alliances. One of the more significant findings that emerged from this study is that 'success' can mean different things to different people/partners, so success and failure should be seen from both parties' perspectives.