Globalization and e-globalization are terminologies of high significance when focusing on smaller firm mechanisms of survival and growth. Studying the way firms are using bridging tactics, including strategic alliances, to increase their chance of survival and growth is an important issue. This is certainly true for the smaller enterprises. There are different tools in literature that are used to analyse the strategic partnership within the international context. One of the new approaches to understand the interaction between the firm's activity and its environment is the concept of the ‘Firm Impact Sphere’. In this article we have reviewed important existing knowledge about Information Technology's (IT) impact on the management and other functional aspects of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). We have re-introduced the concept of the ‘Firm Impact Sphere’ and have related that to the structure of strategic alliances, as an example of an effective bridging tactic used by firms to expand into global markets. The ‘Firm Impact Sphere’ concept was initially proposed by Abouzeedan and Busler (2002). According to this concept, there are three types of Firm Impact Spheres: Localized, Semi-globalized and Globalized. Firm performance has different distinct characteristics in each of these types. Using this differentiation, we have analysed the way the concept of ‘Firm Impact Sphere’ would be used in understanding bridging tactics between functionality, with a concentration on international strategic alliances structuring and building.
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