An initial research proposal

1. Jenny Byast Bangor Business School Friend or Foe? The paradox of forming strategic alliances with competitors

2. Overview 1 Research Topic 2 Literature Review 3Project Methodology 4 Data Collection and Analysis 5 Conclusion

3. Research Topic A study of High Tech Sector SMEs in the Uk Industry Sector and what does it mean for the С21 Classification of SMEs Location of Firms

4. Research Topic This robust review is necessary because of the gaps in the definitions and understanding of terminology related to the industry, industrial sectors and firm and alliance types (Stout, Beaucaire and Payne 2005) there are many

5. Literature Review

6. Literature Review Issues with current literature Research Confined to specific industry/0r technology partnering Hagedoorn & Schakenraad 1999: Limited number of participants March & Gunasekaran 1999:

7. Literature Review Issues with current literature Research Confined to specific industry/0r technology partnering Hagedoorn & Schakenraad 1999: Limited number of participants March & Gunasekaran 1999:

8. Literature Review The models proposed in the literature review do not offer a solution to strategic alliance failure in SMEs however some offer mechanisms for reducing the likelihood of failure (Mitshuasi 2002) while others suggest a paradigm shift towards (Mandal et al 2003:Sarkis et al 2007)

9. Literature Review There is a positive relationship between location of high tech businesses and alliance success (Kumaramanhalam 2005:Gower and Harris 1996) although the measurement of success has to be considered Elmuti et al (2005) On the other hand Saffu and Mamman (1999) argue that there are many problems with such alliances and this is down to cultural differences and expectations AND academia is not aware of true problems of industry (Felsenstein 1994:Bjerregaard2009:Elmuti et al 2005)

10. Literature Review Proposition 1 Firms need to be strategic about where they locate Is there positive correlation between location and success

11. Literature Review The life cycle stage of a firm according to Liang and Lin (2008) is an important consideration when seeking value relevant information to avoid making mistakes. Proposition 2 A firms life cycle stage i.e. growth, maturity and stagnation needs to be considered as intangible assets come with maturity such as intellectual capital while a firm that has reached stagnation may no longer be competitive or innovative.

12. Methodology Literature Review Qualitative Data Collection Quantitative Data Collection Literature Review Case Studies Questionnaire Data Analysis and Hypothesis Testing Conclusions

13. Conclusion This research will contribute to research in engineering successfull alliances for SMEs and provide stepping stones to solutions for SMEs in the 21st Century

14. Thank You Any Questions?