This article applies the dialectical logic of loose coupling to interpartner exchanges in order to analyze the dynamics of global strategic alliances. We develop a typology of control and cooperation that defines alliance states or situations according to their level of cooperation under private...

As business-to-business commerce shifts to the Internet, newer suppliers with cheaper but unreliable technologies enter the market place to win orders from firms by beating the price of their perfectly reliable (but expensive) competitors. The dilemma facing purchasing firms is the allocation of...