Joaquim Molins Figueras Chair of Strategic Alliances
Chair: Africa Ariño
The Joaquim Molins Figueras Chair of Strategic Alliances fosters the generation, diffusion and transfer of knowledge regarding the design and implementation of strategic alliances that enable companies to carry them out effectively.
To this end, it develops a series of research and teaching activities that include research projects, publications in specialized journals, and the organization of and participation in international congresses and seminars, such as the Annual International Congress of the Strategic Management Society (SMS).
The Chair collaborates with IESE’s MBA, PhD and Executive Education programs, and organizes regular sessions for IESE’s Alumni Learning Program.
Research areas.
- Understanding the key design traits and processes enabling companies to create successful alliances.
- Comparative study alliances relative to other forms of corporate growth.
- Studying alliances in emerging markets.
Chair.
Prof. Africa Ariño is professor of the Strategic Management Department at IESE Business School, University of Navarra (Spain), where she holds the Joaquim Molins Figueras Chair of Strategic Alliances. She received her Ph.D. in Management (Strategy and Organization) from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). At IESE, she has served as Deputy Dean for Faculty, Head of the Strategic Management Department, and Director of the Ph.D. Program. Currently President of the Strategic Management Society (SMS), she was elected Fellow of the SMS in 2015. Her research interests include the governance and management of interorganizational relationships, with particular emphasis on strategic alliance design and dynamics. In 2014 she was Visiting Professor for six months at Lagos Business School, Lagos, Nigeria; and Strathmore Business School, Nairobi, Kenya.
Her research has been published in journals such as Global Strategy Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Science, and Strategic Management Journal, among others. Also, she is author of numerous contributions in publications aimed at a managerial audience, such as California Management Review or The Academy of Management Executive. She is co-author of the book Entrepreneurial Alliances (with Jeffrey J. Reuer, and Paul Olk), and co-editor of Strategic alliances: Governance and contracts (with Jeffrey J. Reuer) and Creating value through international strategy (with P. Ghemawat and J.E. Ricart).
Prof. Ariño has served as Associate Editor of Academy of Management Discoveries, European Management Review, and Global Strategy Journal. A current member of the editorial board of Strategic Management Journal, in the past she served in the editorial boards of Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management, and Journal of Management Studies, among others.
Prof. Ariño was the Chairperson of the 2014 Annual International Conference of the Strategic Management Society. Also, she has organized several specialized conferences related to her research interests.
She has served on the Executive Committee of the SMS as President Elect (2019-2020) and as a member of its Board of Directors by membership election in two consecutive terms (2011 – 2013; 2014 – 2016). She was also elected to serve in the Executive Committee of the Business Policy and Strategy Division of the Academy of Management (AoM) (2008 – 2010).
She has participated in diverse consulting projects concerning issues related to strategic management, and others specific to family-owned companies.
To learn more about Prof. Ariño, watch these interviews with AIB Frontline and Meet the Scholar.
Activities.
- Ariño, A. Panelist, “International strategic alliance research in the spotlight of megatrends and microfoundations,” Annual Meeting of the Strategic Management Society (Paris, September 22-25, 2018).
- Ariño, A. “PPPs in health care: Clinical service delivery,” Strategic Management Society Special Conference “Collaborative Strategies: New Thinking about Alliances, Mergers, and Acquisitions” (San José, Costa Rica, December 14-16, 2017).
- Galindo, K., K. Ellis, B. T. Lamont, and A. Ariño. “Institutional Determinants of Ownership Stake in Intra-Africa Acquisitions: The Moderating Role of Geographic Distance,” Annual Meeting of the Strategic Management Society (Houston, USA, October 28-31, 2017).
- Ariño, A. “Towards a revised typology of alliance governance,” Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (Atlanta, USA, August 4-8, 2017).
- Ariño, A. Panelist, Professional Development Workshop on “Alliance Dynamics and Instability,” Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (Atlanta, USA, August 4-8, 2017).
- Keller, A., F. Lumineau, T. Mellewigt and A. Ariño: “Alliance governance mechanisms revisited: a temporal contingency framework.” Université de Genève (Geneva, Switzerland, December 13, 2018).
- Lamont, B. T., K. Ellis, and A. Ariño. “Institutional determinants of ownership stake in intra-Africa cross-border acquisitions.”
- University of Warwick (Coventry, U.K., January 31, 2018).
- University of Amsterdam (Amsterdam, The Netherlands, November 21, 2017).
- University of Groningen (Groningen, The Netherlands, November 20, 2017).
- How Alliances Strengthen the Social Economy. IESE Barcelona (October 10, 2022); IESE Madrid (February 9, 2023).
The Joaquim Molins Figueras Chair of Strategic Alliances invites you to take part in future research studies, by registering your interest here.
- Strategic Alliance Working Group Workshop. Munich (April 1, 2022).
- Alliances and Cooperation: The Challenge of the Social Economy. Webinar (November 10, 2020).
- Alliances and Cooperation: The Challenge of the Social Economy. IESE Barcelona (October 1, 2019).
- Strategic Alliance Working Group Workshop. Barcelona (April 26, 2019).
- Doctoral Colloquium on Strategic Alliances. IESE Barcelona (April 25, 2019).
- Ariño, A. & A. Oprescu: “Cooperar en tiempos de pandemia”, El Economista, June 25, 2020, p. 4.
- Ariño, A. & A. Oprescu: “Las nuevas alianzas de Telefónica”, Expansión, March 2, 2019, p. 43.