The Generative Mechanism & Evolution Of Relational Risk In Cross-board Strategic Alliances

Research on relational risk of strategic alliances started in the 90s last century when two scholars Das & Teng creatively proposed the concept of relational risk & performance risk. Relational risk is concerned with the probability that partner firms lack commitment to the alliance & that their possible opportunistic behavior could undermine the prospects of an alliance . Meanwhile, with the process of economical globalization, more & more cross-board strategic alliances come forth. When the competition concept of commercial world & organization form are remodeled by the ever-change technology & drastic competition, more & more enterprises in Zhejiang step out of the traditional marketing concept & join strategic alliances.This paper would clarify the generative mechanism of relational risk on the basis of works done by researchers at home & abroad, that is to say identify the differences between the focus & generative elements of relational risks in different phases of alliance, including partner selection, alliance structuring, alliance operation & performance evaluation, as well as in different categories of cross-board alliances.In the study of the evolution of relational risk, we pointed out two directions: good & bad. As for strategic alliance, in the process of risk evolution, it might in some cases cover the adjustment of construction & system. However, it might also involve only the change of trust. In that case, our job in this analysis is to identify the evolution trend of relational risks & find out the way to mitigate the risk, i.e. the track of good evolution.Finally, we discuss two typical cases of strategic alliances in Zhejiang & provide practical performance of relational risk, which are more convincible & operational. Upon the analysis of cases, conclusion is given.