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.

摘要： 拥有稀缺资源、地位斐然的卓越型企业一般被视为理想的潜在伙伴，但当弱势企业与之组建联盟时，这类非对称合作关系既为弱势企业提供了机会同时也蕴藏危机。聚焦企业嵌入的多重非对称联盟关系，首先基于交易成本理论与组织学习理论，从伙伴动机和依赖性两个维度提出了一个弱势企业联盟行为策略框架。然后，采用多案例研究的方法，对比华晨与吉利两家汽车制造企业的跨国联盟演化模式和企业绩效，深入分析弱势企业在管理跨国联盟组合中面临的困境与成因，指出采取不同联盟组合战略的弱势企业可以采用增加关系黏性、利用结构洞的有利位置、实施“蛙跳”策略、保持联盟组合的开放性等多种战略实现突围。