Pearltech Inc., an information technology company, decides to establish a business alliance in order to differentiate its products. The manager of research and development, Sanah, is willing to form an alliance only with individuals she has known for a long time or a company within Pearltech $$ s business network. Nate, the operations head, suggests extending the prospects by looking outside their usual network. Which of the following statements strengthens Sanah $$ s argument?