Strategic alliance as an entrepreneurial stimulus for learning in mature stage organizations : a case study of financial services organizations entering into cross industry agreement strategic alliances

Sustained success for an organization is based upon its ability to constantly realign with opportunities that emerge within their markets. Thus, organizations must continually evolve as markets evolve. This thesis examined how mature stage organizations within the financial services industry can adopt entrepreneurial approaches to learn, evolve and improve their competitiveness. Despite the rate of technological change, globalization, and convergence of industries that has occurred in the last decade, there is no clear model to support the adoption of entrepreneurial activities within mature stage organizations. Adopting an exploratory qualitative case study approach, the researcher interviewed informants with experience in the financial services industry in Australia, Europe, North and South Asia, and the United States of America to explore the research question: How do mature stage organizations integrate strategic alliances as an entrepreneurial approach and capitalize on learning in response to evolving markets? Interviewing key informants within the financial services industry, the study confirmed a range of means of conceptualizing, introducing, and managing new business initiatives through strategic alliances. These findings were synthesized into a hypothetical organization in which, it became evident, the more entrepreneurial and innovative the organization became, the more capable it was of sourcing and responding to new opportunities within existing and related markets. The study confirmed the need in strategic alliances for shared vision, strong leadership, effective communication of the organization’s direction and strategy, a culture that embraces flexibility, business competence, a commitment to respect and manage differences between organizations, an ability to work collaboratively, and a willingness to upgrade or replace business processes and technologies to support innovation. The study sought to provide an understanding of how entrepreneurial approaches can remain fluid rather than become static, and how they can be preserved within mature organizations. The importance of leadership, commonality of vision, collaboration, communication, integration of business structures and processes, and willingness to learn from each other began to emerge as central issues from the initial interviews. Consequently, a second research question was added: How do partnering organizations operating in the mature stage of a corporate life cycle within the construct of a cross industry agreement strategic alliance adopt an entrepreneurial approach and mutually learn to recast the direction of their relationship? The study confirmed that organizations should develop and support a culture that embraces learning, flexibility and change. Entrepreneurial organizations require vision, leadership, business structures, processes, and competencies to support innovation. This research adds to the field by establishing that innovation is embedded in the ability of partnering organizations to learn continuously and collaboratively. In doing so, they become more capable of realigning with changing markets and creating and capitalizing on new markets. The research concludes that less hierarchical organizational structures within partnering organizations support strategic alliances and promote the ability of organizations to learn how to cooperate, collaborate, and grow individually and mutually together.