The Entente in World War I: a case study in strategy formulation in an alliance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to stimulate thought on the management of business alliances by considering the mismanagement of relationships between the allies, particularly France and Great Britain, in World War I. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is not intended to be a work of history, although such works are used extensively, but, given the limitations of such a paper, an exhaustive analysis of the events in World War I is infeasible. Errors in selection of data are the responsibility of the paper's author. Findings – The war did not develop as expected and the physical stalemate on the Western Front proved intractable to the routine thinking of the generals. The war involved the total economy of the nations involved in a way never before encountered and the steps the politicians had to take to gear up their nations brought them into conflict with the military. Although the nations opposing the Central Powers were allied, there was no single strategy, rather a series of national initiatives that were barely co‐ordinated with their partners. Unity of military command was achieved in the final months of the war and led to a greater effectiveness of the Entente armies. Firms that ally themselves need to overcome this tendency to concentrate on their own operations and be prepared to appoint an “alliance manager” with the power to make the partners work effectively as a team. The absence of clear thinking in strategy formulation and effective joint command in 1914‐1918 resulted in a Pyrrhic victory and terrible casualties and vast expenditure. Firms cannot afford such a “victory”. Practical implications – The case is a warning to those forming business alliances that their aims must be harmonised with those of their partners, that the strategy is for the benefit of all partners, and some “sovereignty” must be sacrificed in the wider interests o the alliance. Originality/value – This approach aims to cast an unusual perspective on alliances from which the value of existing theory is reinforced.