Collection
Unions and Alliances

by David P. Pinto

Throughout history, groups and their resources have been joined together to form larger ventures capable of bigger - if not better - things.

Separate organizations wishing to combine forces have a variety of options along a spectrum, ranging from simple cooperation to alliances and joint ventures. The materials in this collection focus on the "strongest" form of combination, however: outright unions, in which the former organizations disappear, in form if not in reality.

Unions can come about via a voluntary negotiation between equals, or through a hostile takeover - a conquest. In either case, integration can pose enormous challenges and can have wide-ranging and unexpected effects.