A partner selection framework for strategic alliances based on project complexity and partner’s past experience

In a complex innovative project, an organisation is often not able to manage all aspects alone, due to the lack of all required competencies, skills or resources. Hence, alliance formation can be a solution. To decrease the risk of potential collaboration inefficiency, partner selection happens among firms before collaboration starts. This paper proposes hypotheses based on a systematic literature review. These hypotheses consider the needs of the project and allow to characterise partner selection using a new typology. Finally, a novel framework is proposed to help decision-makers of partner selection in alliance formation. Potentials for future studies are also developed.