Exploiting synergy for competitive advantage

The desire to achieve synergy via shared resources is a primary motivation for many mergers, acquisitions and alliances. However, all too often the benefits of synergy are never realized. Using the results of empirical studies from a wide range of manufacturing and service industries, the authors develop a series of checks which can be used to determine whether there is potential for synergy from shared resources; whether that potential is realized and whether the synergy will lead to a sustained competitive advantage. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.