Purpose -Strategic alliances have a low success rate despite the profusion of literature on this topic in the last 20 years. To understand the factors that determine performance of partnership relations, the purpose of this paper is to study the roles of control and the strength of interorganizational ties in businesses ability to manage strategic alliances. Design/methodology/approach -The authors have examined 10,377 partnership relations formed as part of strategic alliances to analyze the capacity of a business to manage its alliances. The authors built a structural equations model (PLS) based on observation of 4,242 alliances. Findings -This research identifies two determinants of the success of alliance management. First, the impact of weak ties and strong ties is identical when the business does not control the alliance. Second, weak ties are a more effective means than strong ties when a business controls the alliance. Originality/value -The main contribution of this study thus lies in our analysis of interorganizational relations and of their tangible impact on strategic trade-offs. The field of public procurement is particularly well-suited to evaluating this phenomenon, given the subtlety of alliances at play.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study how networks may influence the awarding of a contract. In particular, the authors explore strategic networks originating from cooperative relationships. Design/methodology/approach Based on notices of contracts awarded in the French public sector, the authors identified 10,377 partnership relations within 4,242 strategic alliances. The authors represented the system of relations in a graph. The authors used the networks depicted to measure a set of relational properties and build a structural equation model (partial least squared-path modeling). Findings The results highlight two important elements. First, the authors reveal the impact of the strength of weak and strong ties on contract awarding. Second, the authors show that the strength of weak ties is magnified by lead partners. Originality/value The findings provide insight into strategic behavior that can influence awarding contract. The authors also provide public principals with new means to improve their partner relations.

Docteur en sciences de gestion, AEGE Résumé Cet article propose un dispositif discursif en charge de favoriser la diffusion d'une pratique de gestion. La revue de littérature, fondée sur la théorie néo-institutionnelle et la théorie des modes managériales, affirme que les managers adoptent une pratique en fonction de critères d'ordre « technico-économiques » mais également « socio-psychologiques ». Notre dispositif s'appuie sur ces deux moteurs d'adoption. Il pousse 85 % des sondés à adopter le « modèle FRE », une pratique fictive dont les défauts majeurs sont pourtant facilement identifiables.

Despite a lack of theoretical understanding regarding how consumers react when using mobile applications in a store, the latter are being used more and more often in shared consumption areas. This research explores the impact that using a mobile application has on perceptions of co‐presence. Depending on the consumption experience stage, this technological tool can be a social facilitator that enhances interactions with companions or a device that makes it possible to reduce a negative crowd impression. This paper is positioned at the intersection of interpersonal influence research and research focused on mobile technologies' effect on the purchasing process. It may interest managers of sites where there is high co‐presence and where a mobile application might reduce negative crowd impressions and facilitate in‐group sharing.

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