What were the costs and benefits of using complementary resources of external actors to fill resource gaps? Case 1.2 Four Seasons’ ‘answers’ to the seven basic questions in international strategy formation104 Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, a Toronto (Canada)-based company founded in 1960, currently operates 72 hotels in 31 countries. It is the leading player in the luxury hotel business worldwide, with several of its hotels routinely earning almost all major hotel quality recognition awards. In 2006, five Four Seasons hotels won the AAA Five Diamond Award for hotels and restaurants, North America’s symbol of excellence in the hospitality industry. In that same year, 18 Four Seasons hotels were among the ‘Top 100 Hotels’ according to Travel + Leisure, one of the most influential travel and lifestyle publications in the world.105 A detailed understanding of the routines required to satisfy sophisticated and demanding hotel guests drives this hotel chain’s success. This knowledge took a long time to develop. The relevant routines also appeared deployable