Abstract: Firms with rare resources and prominent market position are normally viewed as the ideal potential partners, however, while offering opportunities to less-endowed firms, they may also post threats in asymmetric alliances. This paper studies the multiple asymmetric alliances that less-endowed firms are embedded within. Basing upon the transaction cost and organizational learning theory, it first proposes an allying strategy framework for less-endowed firms. By comparing the evolution process and performance of international alliance portfolio of Huanche and Geely, this paper highlights underlying factors that drive less-endowed firms into a dilemma, indicating that less-endowed firms with different allying strategies may adopt strategies such as choosing the right time window to form alliance, using structural hole position, taking leapfrogging movement, and keeping alliance portfolio open to leverage and improve its position in multi asymmetric alliances.