Apple Inc. is an international company that is based in Cupertino, California. It specializes in consumer electronics, online services, and computer software and is considered one of the Big Four companies, along with Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. Apple efficiently uses collaborative arrangements for sales expansion, risk minimization, as well as resource acquisition. For example, it acquires a new company every two to three weeks (Peterson, 2019). Apple purchases equity stocks of numerous established businesses, including Beats Electronics, Siri, and Shazam, for billions of dollars. Licensing (Accenture, Cisco, Salesforce) is a way for Apple to acquire technology intelligence with fewer risks and commitments. Recently, the company announced a major strategic alliance with Google and Amazon “to develop and promote the adoption of a new, royalty-free connectivity standard (…) among smart home products.” (as cited in Gilbert, 2019). The technology industry requires organizations to be innovative in terms of product/service offerings, so big companies usually prefer external technology sourcing through licensing, acquisitions, and minority investments. Larger companies can have full control over new knowledge by purchasing equity stakes (acquisition). At the same time, smaller businesses and start-ups prefer minority investments in a time of technological uncertainty.
References
Gilbert, B. (2019). In a rare move, Apple, Amazon, and Google just announced a major partnership. Business Insider. Web.
Peterson, B. (2019). Apple has bought more than 20 companies since November, but we know about only 6 of them. Business Insider. Web.