TY - THES AU - Niggli, Pamela T1 - SMEs Growing International Business through Strategic Alliances T4 - Alliance Management Model DA - 2013 CY - Chur PB - Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft HTW Chur A3 - Bau, Frank AB - SMEs in the IT industry seek competitive advantage and international growth through strategic alliances. SMEs face challenges that are different from those of large companies and need to adopt different strategies. Key success factors are: clear alliance strategy, compatible partners with mutual benefits, formalized agreements, joint marketing & sales activities and clear communication. Each alliance life cycle phase is important and key success factors should be kept as driving forces behind the whole process. Alliance management is an on-going process that needs to be integrated in the overall company strategy. Alliance managers perform multiple tasks in four main areas: new partners search, portfolio analysis and strategy definition, existing alliance monitoring, and internal/external communication. With or without a dedicated alliance management position SMEs must make sure they commit the necessary resources and time if they intend to achieve concrete and efficient results. M3 - Masterarbeit New Business M4 - Citavi ER -