STRATEGIC ALLIANCES As companies try to extend their reach, share risks or reduce costs, many of them decide to form strategic alliances. Considering that such alliances often fail, one may wonder whether this is due in part to a poor understanding of the management ______________required to make them work. According to a recent report, alliance managers have to be impartial. They must not be fiercely ______________ to one company or ______________. They must be able to tolerate different ways of doing things, and they also need to be willing to take ______________and let things happen. The report points out that the challenges ______________ by alliances are different from mergers because they are temporary, involve ______________ownership and have fewer formal structures and little hierarchy. Furthermore, many alliances are between past or present competitors, so it is crucial to build ______________ownership and have fewer formal structures and little hierarchy. Furthermore, many alliances are between past or present competitors, so it is crucial to build ______________agendas. It is also vital to know how to develop a ______________of employees, both specialists and managers, who are capable of working in various complex yet temporary alignments. This, according to the report, will become a key source of competitive ______________.