The case study under examination focuses on the international strategic alliance celebrated by Brisa – Auto-Estradas de Portugal, (hereinafter referred to as “Brisa”), the largest transport infrastructure company in Portugal, in Companhia de Concessões Rodoviárias, (hereinafter referred to as “CCR”), a Brazilian consortium, which has become one of the largest infrastructure concession companies in the world.
The aim of this research revolves around value creation in international strategic alliances. This thesis strives to identify the streams of added-value in cross-border partnerships and at which point of time each form of value is created.
The results that have surfaced from this research attest that firms may create value, strategic, learning and financial, from strategic alliances, and that those benefits are captured by organizations.
Moreover, this study shows that the distinct drivers of value are firstly originated at different stages of the operation. However, the different components act as enablers to the overall value chain potential of the venture.
The final finding is that, to some extent, the value created in an international endeavor is limited to the operation, having restricted impact in the competitive positioning of the firm in its domestic market.
There is hope that the conclusions drawn from this research constitute a valuable contribution to existing theory on the topic, as well as to any firm in its internationalization growth strategies