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Summary:
The fast technological development and the convergence of the media industry have made competition in the printing industry harder and not only in-industry any longer. This puts great pressure on individual companies, and in a climate of rapid change, companies need to respond quickly to external forces in order to remain competitive. To accomplish this many different competitive resources and competences need to be managed. This can be achieved either directly by ownership or indirectly by cooperation. This qualitative case study sets out to investigate how alliances are used in the dynamic business environment of the printing industry, with a focus on cooperation in connection with digital printing. The primary reason, for the companies' cooperation was gaining access to resources to enhance customer satisfaction and retain customer contact. This paper illustrates that alliances and cooperations can be used in different ways and being part of an alliance can be regarded as successful and something worth nurturing. Even though alliances can provide competitive advantages, this study also indicates that hypercompetitive behavior, like being to opportunistic, clearly can have drastic negative effects on an alliance. The primary reason, for the companies' cooperation was gaining access to resources to enhance customer satisfaction and retain customer contact. This paper illustrates that alliances and cooperations can be used in different ways and being part of an alliance can be regarded as successful and something worth nurturing. Even though alliances can provide competitive advantages, this study also indicates that hypercompetitive behavior, like being to opportunistic, clearly can have drastic negative effects on an alliance.