导言 报纸近来几乎天天都有消息,说原先至少在某些市场领域是作为竞争对手而相对峙的企业之间新近签订了联合协议。这种联合——现时大都称之为战略联盟——引起了完全不同的反响:一种反响是,战略联盟引发了新的联合浪潮以及围绕市场份额所进行的全球化竞争。另一种反响则是,战略联盟是“灾难性联盟”,它有损消费者的利益。事实上,已经有人在呼吁创造一种国际竞争秩序,甚至要求建立一个全球性的有关垄断的机构。 Introduction Newspapers have recently received news almost every day, saying that there has recently been a joint agreement between companies that were relatively paralyzed at least in certain market areas. This combination, which is nowadays mostly referred to as a strategic alliance, has caused quite a different reaction: One repercussion is that strategic alliances have triggered new joint waves and global competition around market share. Another repercussion is that strategic alliances are “disaster coalitions,” which damage the interests of consumers. In fact, some people are already calling for creating an international competitive order, and even require the establishment of a global monopoly-related institution.