The concept of ‘impartition’ policies: A different approach to vertical integration strategies

P. Y. Barreyre

Strategic Management Journal, 1988, vol. 9, issue 5, 507-520

Abstract: The inverse of vertical integration, ‘impartition’, is defined as an entrepreneurial behaviour which consists in casting other firms (partners) for different parts of its overall system of activities. A firm imparts when, in order to allocate its own resources to activities more congruent with its strategic objectives, it contracts out instead of doing in‐house. This concept also involves a cooperative attitude towards partners for a mutual profit based on external synergies. The developed pattern has a large range of applications: subcontracting, proxy agreements, agency contracts, international production sharing, product mandating, franchising, licensing and a growing number of intangibles. The use of the impartition leverage may amplify the strategic power of a firm and its capacity for fast growth. In response to severe worldwide competition and accelerating technological and social changes, four overall principles underlie an impartition policy: high turnover, organizational flexibility, strategic mobility and external synergies. In conclusion the author insists on the necessity of mastering the art of resources management.

Date: 1988
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