A strategic alliance

involves two or more companies joining forces to pursue forward and$/$or backward vertical integration.

is a collaborative arrangement whereby two companies join forces to defeat certain rivals which both companies are having

trouble competing against.

is a partnership between two or more companies that is typically aimed at enhancing their own individual capabilities to pursue attractive new market opportunities with their own customized competitive strategies.

is a collaborative arrangement where two or more companies join forces to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

is a collaborative arrangement whereby two companies join forces to reduce their production costs by manufacturing and assembling their products in a jointly owned$-$and$-$operated plant.The main impetus for merger and acquisition strategies is to

expand the resulting company's geographic coverage.

facilitate a company's move from a less profitable strategic group to a more profitable strategic group.

$$ expand the number of cost driver and value driver opportunities that the resulting new company can pursue.

fundamentally alter a company's trajectory and improve its business outlook.

enable the resulting new company to quickly and cheaply create more competitively valuable capabilities.