Strategic alliances: two perspectives for understanding their effects on health services.

Strategic alliances are an organizational innovation likely to have profound consequences on the delivery of health services. As an innovation, it is important that attention be given to the fundamental research issues associated with their adoption and outcomes. Using a variance and process perspective, selected research issues are identified for the alliances and participating organizations within the alliances. The variance perspective at both the alliance and participating organization levels considers the explanation of outcomes and specific stages in the adoption process at a particular point in time. The process perspective considers the particular steps or events in the overall adoption process over time. The managerial implications for each perspective are discussed.