Do industries' structural attributes/characteristics influence their decision to utilize strategic alliances?

Abstract

This study assessed the structural characteristics of industries and their influence in the decision to utilize strategic alliance by industries. A survey research design and a questionnaire survey of 309 industries were used in the study while percentages and tables were used to analyse the data and show results. Based on the structural characteristics of the surveyed industries, two types of industries were found in the study. These are small scale industries with 5 - 49 workers and medium scale industries with 50 - 199 workers. The result also indicated that 68% of the surveyed industries were small scale industries while 32% were medium scale industries. In area of strategic alliance decisions, the study discovered that strategic alliances were utilized by industries of all sizes. Consequently, this paper has shown that strategic alliance plays an essential role in the production activities of small-scale industries. The paper suggests that industrial policies of government should be targeted at encouraging the potentials of small and medium scale industries.