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Make-Buy-Ally Framework

L1Decision ModelsGrowth and portfoliodecisionStages 3 to 4

Reference model

Build, borrow or buyThree questions asked in order, starting from a capability gap. Can we build it? If yes, build. If no, can we borrow it through a contract or an alliance? If yes, borrow. If no, can we buy it? If yes, buy. If all three answers are no, revisit the need.A CAPABILITY GAP1Can we build it?Relevant resources inside, andtime to develop the capabilityYesBuild(make)Develop it ourselvesNo2Can we borrow it?A contract if it can bespecified; an alliance with apartner we can trustYesBorrow(ally or contract)Use a partner’s capabilityNo3Can we buy it?A target that has it, anaffordable price and a way tointegrate itYesBuy(acquire)Own the capability outrightIf all three answers are No: revisit the needIs the capability really needed, or can the strategy change so that it is not?Ask in this order: build if you can, borrow if you cannot, buy only when you must.

Ask the questions in order: can we build it, can we borrow it, can we buy it?

About this model

When a business needs a capability it does not have, it can build it inside, borrow it through a contract or an alliance, or buy a company that has it. Capron and Mitchell turn the choice into three questions asked in order, so the route follows from the facts rather than from habit.

Laurence Capron & Will Mitchell — Build, Borrow, or Buy: Solving the Growth Dilemma · 2012

How to read it

  • Build first, if the business has relevant resources inside and the time to develop the capability itself.
  • Borrow if it cannot build in time: through a contract when the capability can be specified and bought, or through an alliance when it needs a partner it can trust to work alongside it.
  • Buy when it needs full control, no one can lend it the capability, and a target can be found, afforded and integrated. A route that fails its question is not a route.

What this does

Decides whether a needed capability should be built in-house, bought/acquired, or accessed through an alliance.

When to use it

Growth/Scale, whenever a capability gap (new process, geography, or technology) needs closing and the sourcing route isn't obvious.

Not when: A capability gap that is cheap and fast to build in-house — this framework earns its keep on genuinely hard sourcing calls, not routine hiring or a small tooling purchase.

What happens next

A 'buy' or 'ally' verdict feeds the M&A Synergy Map; a 'make' verdict feeds the Operating Model Canvas.

Golden thread

Builds on ←

    A starting point: it needs no earlier tool.

    Feeds into →

    • masynergy

    Framework library: Strategy and environment (layer L1), lifecycle stages 3 to 4.

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    Hand-built by Eccellere and reviewed by Eccellere on 02/11/2026. Guidance, not advice: apply your own judgement.