Boundaryless Management - Creating, transforming and using knowledge in inter-organizational collaboration. A literature review

Current literature on organizations often argues that firms are becoming increasingly dependent on knowledge residing outside their own boundaries requiring organizations to increase their entrepreneurial abilities and make their boundaries more flexible and permeable. This paper reviews the literature on what might be called interorganizational knowledge work. Implied in this focus is an assumption of clear organizaitonal boundaries. Rather than taking these boundaries and their importance for granted, the current review, however, aims at relativizing these boundaries. By focusing the empirical phenomenon of collaboration between individuals in different organizations, four different streams of literature with different constructions of the organizational boundary and its importance were identified: the literature on learning in alliances and joint ventures, the literature on collaboration in industrial networks, the literature on social networks and communities of practice and finally the literature on geographical clusters and innovation systems. The above four streams of the literature are reviewed with a special focus on the following three questions: 1. What is the role of (organizational) boundaries in interorganizational knowledge work? 2. What do we know about how these boundaries can be overcome? 3. What are the implications for managing interorganizational knowledge work spelled out in the literature?Interorganizational collaboration; Knowledge Management; Literature review

Assessing partnership alternatives in an IT network employing analytical methods

One of the main critical success factors for the companies is their ability to build and maintain an effective collaborative network. This is more critical in the IT industry where the development of sustainable competitive advantage requires an integration of various resources, platforms, and capabilities provided by various actors. Employing such a collaborative network will dramatically change the operations management and promote flexibility and agility. Despite its importance, there is a lack of an analytical tool on collaborative network building process. In this paper, we propose an optimization model employing AHP and multiobjective programming for collaborative network building process based on two interorganizational relationships’ theories, namely, (i) transaction cost theory and (ii) resource-based view, which are representative of short-term and long-term considerations. The five different methods were employed to solve the formulation and their performances were compared. The model is implemented in an IT company who was in process of developing a large-scale enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The results show that the collaborative network formed through this selection process was more efficient in terms of cost, time, and development speed. The framework offers novel theoretical underpinning and analytical solutions and can be used as an effective tool in selecting network alternatives

East-west corporate networking: A theoretical approach

In recent years after the beginning of the transition process, firms in Central and Eastern European countries have been trying hard to find access to international markets and production chains. Rapidly changing institutional, technological and demand conditions together with decades of isolation from world markets do not let ,,stand-alone strategies appear very successful in this context. The paper presents networking activities as a promising alternative for Central and Eastern European firms (CEEF) to organize international transactions. As several theories show, network forms of organization can - by establishing an atmosphere of trust and stability and by pooling resources and information - make it possible for network members to realize an economic advantage over external competitors that is higher than in markets or hierarchies. Among various types of networking activities, it is especially long-term-orientated relations that offer the possibility for CEEF to participate in an international exchange of crucial technologies and to upgrade their position in global production chains in the long run.

Transparency dilemmas, information technology and alliances in agriculture and food industry

alliance, agriculture, food industry

Power Struggle in the Food Chain? Lessons from Empirical Studies on Power Influences in Chains and Marketing Channels

Power plays a key role in any chain relationship. In the past large manufacturers such as Unilever and Nestle were the most dominant players in the chain. However, as a result of consolidation among retailers, power has shifted towards retailers. Nowadays such retailers as Wal-Mart, Carrefour, and Tesco are seen as powerful gatekeepers controlling the access to the end consumer. Moreover, branded manufacturers and large multinational retailers become increasingly dependent on fewer and larger suppliers who can deliver high quality products at competitive prices. Since many decades there is discussion going on about the role of power in chains and marketing channels. In order to understand how power and its interactions with other constructs in the chain can be used beneficially for management of the whole chain, it is of great importance to investigate the influences and effects of power. Some of the phenomena which are said to be influenced by power include performance, satisfaction, commitment, relationship quality, conflict, compliance, problem solving, chain integration and collaboration. In this context, the aim of our work is to analyze and systemize existing empirical studies, which measure the influences of power on other phenomena, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of existing conceptualizations of power, in order to add clarity to the existing turmoil in the literature and contribute to the understanding of the role of power in chains and marketing channels for managerial purposes.Power, Power Conceptualization, Supply Chain, Supply Chain Network, Marketing,

Interorganizational Relationships Climate And Interorganizational Information Systems Success; A Supply Chain Perspective

During the last two decades, an increasing amount of attention has been paid by practitioners as well as academics to Interorganizational Information Systems (IOSs) design, deployment and use within supply chains. However, our understanding of the main factors that affect IOSs use and success is hardly complete. Through brief review of coordination mechanisms theory and its related theory such as transaction cost theory (TCT) and Resource Based View (RBV), the paper generates theoretical propositions and attempt to conceptualize a theoretical model which map the role of Interorganizational relationships (IORs) climate attributes in linking IOSs technology and supply success. The theoretical model encompasses two major causal relations: (1) a direct relation linking IOS use with Supply chain performance (IOS success) and (2) a moderating relation linking IOS success with IORs attributes. Else more, the paper attributes to IORs success climate a set of constructs drawn from the literature review, namely; interorganizational cooperation/ interorganizational coordination, interorganizational trust, interorganizational commitment, and interorganizational dependence

Governance networks: Interlocking directorships of corporate and nonprofit boards

This study describes the interlocking networks of corporate directors serving on publicly listed corporate boards and those on the boards of nonprofit organizations in Western Australia in 2006. When this study was undertaken, the state was the beneficiary of a booming economy in resource development prior to the global financial crisis, yielding a substantial number of resource companies with their headquarters in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. Through social network analysis using NetDraw, we trace the extent of interpersonal connections of prominent individuals who serve on these boards in this relatively isolated state in Australia. The network figures demonstrate the inner circle of companies and nonprofits with their interlocking directorships that suggest the growing interpenetration among the state, the market, and civil society. As a result of reduced government funding during the last two decades in Western Australia, nonprofit organizations have had to use market strategies to increase their revenues, which is one factor that has led to this greater interdependence between previously separate groups. Thus, market forces have blurred the boundaries that once separated private companies from nonprofit organizations, increasing the interlocking nature of their board directors

Economic Geography and the Evolution of Networks

An evolutionary perspective on economic geography requires a dynamic understanding of change in networks. This paper explores theories of network evolution for their use in geography and develops the conceptual framework of geographical network trajectories. It specifically assesses how tie selection constitutes the evolutionary process of retention and variation in network structure and how geography affects these mechanisms. Finally, a typology of regional network formations is used to discuss opportunities for innovation in and across regions.evolution, network trajectory, evolutionary economic geography, social network analysis, innovation

Trust, dependence and interorganizational systems

Organizations form interorganizational relationships and utilize information technology to improve performance. This thesis discusses the influences of dependence and different types of trust on the use of interorganizational systems and subsequently the attainment of strategic benefits. The findings indicate that dependence can influence efforts of individuals, internal business-processes and knowledge repositories. The findings also indicate that when trust is based on perceptions of competence or reliability, organizations customize efforts of individuals and their internal processes to match the business partner. When trust is based on perceptions of openness, the organizations customize efforts of individuals and their knowledge repositories instead. This thesis also discusses how the different types of resources facilitate the attainment of strategic benefits. The findings indicate that organizations need to combine their resources to achieve successful information exchange. The successful interlinkage of business-processes and the successful sharing of knowledge positively influence the attainment of strategic benefits.