Recently there has been a movement away from vertical growth strategies (and thus vertical
integration) toward cooperative contractual relationships with suppliers and even with
competitors. These relationships range from outsourcing, in which resources are purchased
from outsiders through long-term contracts instead of being made in-house (for example,
Hewlett-Packard bought its laser engines from Canon for HP’s laser jet printers), to strategic
alliances, in which partnerships, technology licensing agreements, and joint ventures supplement
a firm’s capabilities (for example, Toshiba has used strategic alliances with GE, Siemens,
Motorola, and Ericsson to become one of the world’s leading electronic companies).