Centralization has important ramifications for coordination, learning, and trust in the alli- ance. With regard to coordination, centralization has both advantages and disadvantages. Horizontal and vertical centralization make coherence and consistency in decision making easier, and facilitate and accelerate conflict resolution—by limiting the number of actors involved in decision making, and by limiting the number of channels within which conflicts can occur. Hence, decision makers in a centralized alliance structure will be better positioned to ensure alignment and give direction to joint efforts—and to do so more quickly—com- pared to those acting from within decentralized structures. But when faced with a large volume or range of coordination issues, they may quickly push beyond their limits of atten- tion and coordination skills. Vertically and horizontal decentralized decision-making struc- tures, in contrast, facilitate coordination because they allow decisions to be made closer to where problems occur (Grant, 1996), enhance information-processing capacity of the alli- ance organization by establishing multiple channels (Galbraith, 1974), and involve multiple managers in these decision-making channels, which allow them to collectively overcome individual attentional constraints and cognitive blind spots.