Today's firms are increasingly embedded in networks of alliances that influence their behavior and performance. Ranjay Gulati examines the 'network resources' that arise from these ties, how successful firms manage these, and how they influence strategy, access to resources, and perceptions of a firm's legitimacy. - ;Today's firms are increasingly embedded in networks of alliances and other ties that influence their behavior and performance. In this, his first book on the subject, Ranjay Gulati examines the 'network resources' that arise from these ties, how successful firms manage these, and how they influence strategy, access to material resources, and perceptions of a firm's legitimacy held by key external parties such as investors and banks. The book synthesises Gulati's influential work on network dynamics from the last fifteen years, and presents the key findings from this extensive body of research. Gulati's insights are important for scholars, students, and practitioners interested in the behavior of firms in an increasingly networked economy. Ranjay Gulati is one of the leading theorists and researchers studying alliances and networks, and has written widely on the subject. His work has been published in leading academic journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, and in the Harvard Business Review. - ;'This is a book I have been eager to see. Gulati has done a service to his colleagues in bringing together in one convenient reference so many of his influential papers. More than is possible in journal articles, the book provides an integrated view, in broader perspective, of Gulati's productive study of alliances as a network phenomenon.' - Ronald S. Burt, Hobart W. Williams Professor of Sociology and Strategy, University of Chicago;'The past two decades have seen an enormous expansion of strategic alliances among firms, as

globalization and information technology have enabled and encouraged boundary-breaching forms of organization. Through a dozen years' worth of research on the causes and consequences of alliance networks, Gulati has demonstrated the value of a network perspective for the contemporary corporation, and this book provides a comprehensive introduction to this perspective' - Gerald F. Davis, Professor of Management and Organizations, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.