A strategic partnership is an alliance between two or more firms in which resources, capabilities, and core competencies are combined to pursue mutual benefits (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 1997). The purpose of this pilot study was to examine strategic partnerships within the domestic textile complex. Qualitative interviews were conducted spring 1999 with seven textile complex executives. A two-page interview instrument was developed for data collection, based on a theoretical framework that incorporated both Thibaut and Kelley’s (1959) social exchange theory and the Lorange and Roos (1992) Partners’ Supply Chain Model. Results showed that a) partnerships did exist in the domestic textile complex; b) costs were both financial (for partnership establishment) and relational (conflict of interest between partners); and c) benefits included sharing of private company information, sharing of financial risk, receiving exclusive access to select goods and services, and reduced time to market. Strategic partnerships will play a key role in the future by strengthening communication and business relationships in the domestic textile complex.
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