Governance and Performance of Strategic Alliances in Africa: The Role of Institutions

This article seeks to contribute to the institutional perspective of the governance of strategic intercompany alliances in Africa, through examination and analysis of a typology of informal African institutions. We support the view that interactions in African institutions determine the pertinent choice of governance mechanisms for intercompany alliances. In African institutional environments, the success of strategic alliances is subject to differentiated interactions among the contract, institutional confidence, interpersonal confidence and inter-organizational confidence. In the area of strategic management, this article provides theoretical and managerial contributions to our understanding of the institutional approach to the governance of strategic business alliances in Africa.