The staffing of decision-making channels also allows us to distinguish the degree of horizontal
centralization in the alliance, that is, the number of actors involved in a given decision-making
channel. A low level of horizontal centralization would involve multiple representatives from
each partner in established decision-making channels. A medium level of horizontal centralization
could, for example, comprise one manager from each partner. High horizontal centralization
would grant the authority to make strategic choices on behalf of all partners to a single manager.
This is usually the case in JV arrangements, where specific decision-making domains are
assigned to individual JV managers (e.g., the JV’s CEO, CFO, CTO, etc.) rather than committees
of parent firms’ representatives. But such concentration of decision-making authority also occurs
in purely contractual alliances that follow a “trading” logic, that is, where partners bring together
complementary competences: In those cases the partner organization that has most competences
or experience in a particular domain may have decision authority over that domain. In the previously
described Renault–Nissan alliance each company leads the alliance’s new engine design
efforts and orchestrates alliance resources for their respective area of expertise—Renault for
diesel and Nissan for gasoline engines.23 Horizontal decentralization essentially allows alliance
partners to make alliance-related planning and resource allocation decisions independently.
Aldrich and Sasaki (1995) identify such decentralized arrangements as typical for Japanese
research consortia, where partners shun the establishment of joint R&D facilities and instead fully
decentralize research projects to member organizations and simply share results and benefits at
the end.