What makes a strategic alliance a useful business tool and how do we differentiate it from a joint venture ?

A strategic alliance is a formal relationship between two or more parties to pursue a set of agreed upon goals or to meet a critical business need while remaining independent organizations. Parties may provide the strategic alliance with resources such as products, distribution channels, manufacturing capability, project funding, capital equipment, knowledge, expertise, or intellectual property. The alliance is a cooperation or collaboration which aims for a synergy where each party hopes that the benefits from the alliance will be greater than those from individual efforts.

A strategic alliance can be a very useful business tool. It can open new doors/avenues, give you exposure to a new or complementary target market or audience, maximize profits, and increase business networks for future partnerships, by utilizing multiple skill sets for a common goal. Most importantly in the therapy world, it can be a viable alternative to:
– the ongoing trend of mergers and acquisitions in our industry
– thinking that you have to create or do everything organically from scratch

A  joint venture is usually a legal entity formed between two or more parties to undertake an economic activity together. The JV parties agree to create, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They then share in the revenues, expenses and assets and “control” of the enterprise.  Other forms of joint ventures include an agreement to work together formalized through a Heads of Agreement or a Strategic Cooperation Agreement.