Endogamic Vs Exogamic Partnerships

The paper distinguishes between two types of inter-firm alliances: endogamy and exogamy. Endogamy occurs when partners share related profiles. On the opposite, exogamy appears when allies exhibit unrelated profiles. It is suggested that endogamy serves for accumulating similar resources and gaining scale effects while exogamy allows the combination of differentiated competences and the achievement of symbiotic effects. Two different cases are employed to infer practical recommendations regarding how these different types of partnerships should be managed.