A model for exploring evolution of strategic alliances in project-based industries-the case of construction industry

Organizations should be flexible and responsive to today's rapidly changing business environment to sustain their long-term competitive advantage. One important alternative to accomplish this is to engage in strategic alliancing with other organizations. This thesis aims to examine the concept of strategic alliances through networks. It proposes a new configurational model that explores the evolution of strategic alliances in project-based industries with a social network perspective. Here, strategic alliances will be analyzed in terms of configurational network characteristics and alliance project-related characteristics they possess. Turkish Contractors' alliance projects will be under investigation to explore the evolution of an alliance network. This study will utilize a mixed-method technique that can rarely found in construction management studies. Social Network Analysis (SNA) and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) will be combined to strengthen the interpretations of the data and, consequently, give a more holistic view of the alliance network phenomenon in the construction industry.