Forming valuable alliances with suppliers, distributors, and competitors requires some daring counterintuitive tactics. The next bold step is to set up cooperative networks‐vertical integration systems, technology links, development cooperatives, and stakeholder alliances.

Many people think strategic alliances are another quick‐fix management toy that will soon be put away in the executive closet. That is far from the truth. A strategic alliance makes it possible for two companies to reach out together for a mutual objective and create more value together than...