Inter-firm strategic alliances deserve a much more prominent place in the public debate on industrial restructuring and economic growth than they have enjoyed until now. Alliances provide a useful mechanism to assist the establishment of competitive indigenous IT industries and to mobilise the necessary financial resources and technological expertise needed to upgrade lagging infrastructure. Alliances, however, are only one of many potential policy instruments. In order to be successful in their role as facilitators of access to technology, capital and markets, alliances must be complemented by an appropriate domestic economic environment. Ultimately, this environment will affect the incentives of firms to upgrade to higher value-added activities and to seek out appropriate collaborators. Certain policy 'complications' that alliances introduce also deserve serious consideration.
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