This study empirically examined the effects of formal controls—process control and output control—on alliance performance in strategic alliances between multinational corporations, and whether the additional use of informal control on top of formal control helps improve alliance performance. Additionally, it analyzed whether there are differences in the impact of formal control on alliance performance in alliances with firms from emerging countries compared to alliances with firms from developed countries. The empirical results showed that process control had a positive (+) effect on alliance performance, while output control had a negative (-) effect on alliance performance. Furthermore, the additional use of informal control on top of process control did not further enhance alliance performance, indicating that the two variables have a substitute-like relationship. The influence of formal control on alliance performance showed no difference between alliances with developed country firms and alliances with emerging country firms. The managerial implications of these findings are that in international strategic alliances, process control should be used rather than output control whenever possible, and when process control is employed, additional informal control is unnecessary. In the use of such formal controls, firms need not consider the national characteristics of alliance partners, such as whether they are from developed or emerging countries.