Product details

The CFM-56 is the most successful commercial jet engine ever produced to date. This engine was developed and is produced within the framework of a 50/50 joint venture uniting General Electric of the US and SNECMA of France. The case focuses on the strategic alliance formed by the two firms and its aim is to show that, in an alliance, the partner firms have their own objectives that are distinct from those of the common project. Discussion of the case makes it clear that the choices on the organisation and the management of the alliance are the result of a compromise between each partner''s strategic objectives and the efficiency requirements of the project itself. Additionally, the case makes it possible to analyse the impact that participation in the alliance had on each partner''s competitive position. In order to allow this discussion, the case gives a fairly detailed description of how the alliance was formed and is run, and of the relationships established between the two partners for R&D, production, sales and after-sales.