Product details

This case focuses on a product development alliance between an American and Japanese company in a technology intensive industry. It describes the evolution of the alliance from the perspective of the American partner. The objective of the alliance was to develop a new generation of products to counter a common competitor. Combining the capabilities of the two partners, the alliance was expected to deliver the new product faster, with lower cost and with better performance characteristics than could have been achieved if the two partners had acted separately. However, the alliance did not fulfil the initial expectations and the product development was seriously delayed. Top management asked the newly appointed manager for alliance learning to present an analysis of what went wrong, and to suggest specific actions to get the alliance back on course.