The purpose of this article is to assess the structure of strategic alliances and their functioning in the particular case of public markets. To this end, we analyzed 4203 alliances on French public procurement markets. Our finding show that a significant amount of strategic alliances between companies is determined by preferential attachment. Cohesion resulting from such specific preferences is thought to influence how alliances are maintained as they depend on the relational networks of a company. The article concludes by laying out managerial implications for alliance structuring models as well as new directions for future empirical research.

Mamavi, O. et Meier, O. (2014). Le principe d’attachement préférentiel dans la formation des alliances stratégiques, Revue Française de Gestion, N°241, p.79-91