Introduction: Placing a Value on Your Key Commercial Partnerships

1. The Business of Partnering

A crisis in management; Diminishing sources of competitive advantage; From product-base competition to knowledge-base advantage; Extending the boundaries of the firm; The strategic value of partnering; Partnering and competing supply chains; The problems of understanding your partners

2. The Evolution of Partnership-driven Business Strategies

Introduction; The development of supply chain management; Supply chain networks; Strategic alliances; Marketing channels; Managing buy-sell relationships; Conclusion

3. The Obstacles and Drivers of Successful Partnerships

Introduction; Leveraging mutual investments; Learning from each other; Governance; The influence of leadership and control mechanisms; Understanding partnership performance; Proactive relationship management; Summary

4. Relationship Marketing: A 'new-old' theory of business relationships

Marketing foundations; Relationship marketing rediscovered; Collaborate or fail; From power management to relationship management; The relationship business; Modelling the marketing relationship; Managing partnership value; Building relationship management capabilities; Summary

5. Understanding Partnership and Alliance Dynamics

Introduction; A 'new economic' view of partnerships; Finding the measure of partnership performance; Conclusion

6. Working Hard at the 'Soft' Factors

Introduction; Evaluating partnership performance; Opportunities and challenges created through collaborative innovation; Opportunities and challenges created through partnership quality; Opportunities and challenges of creating value; The model of partnership performance; Summary

7. The Gibbs+Humphries Partnership Types

Introduction; Evangelists; Stable Pragmatists; Rebellious Teenagers; Evolving Pessimists; Captive Sharks; Cherry Pickers; No Can Dos; Deserters; Summary

8. Making Partnerships and Alliances Work for You

Management implications; Determining the right partnership type; Partnership types and market development; Relationship management and the Gibbs+Humphries Partnership Types; The Gibbs+Humphries Partnership Types and marketing; Conclusion