Antecedents of value from inter-organisational collaboration

Abstract

Collaboration is widely identified as a force for good, with a wide range of benefits attributed to it, but considerable variations exist in descriptions of exactly what constitutes collaboration and how it is undertaken in practice. In the face of this diversity it becomes difficult to understand how effectively the process of collaboration is being undertaken. In this research, value concept principles are adopted in an exploration of collaboration processes in order to derive a better understanding of how organisations establish new collaborations, and to gain insights into the situational factors and human behaviour that may lead to improved collaboration effectiveness. The research design featured a constructivist version of grounded theory used in conjunction with the complementary techniques of Situational Analysis. This design is particularly suited to the research context in which social processes feature prominently and in which the objectives include theory development. A topology of eight generic categories of process is presented in the findings as part of a central category that links temporal, behavioural and situational factors to collaboration outcomes. The identification of social capital and human capital as intermediate forms of value, located in individual actors and their social relationships, is used to highlight the importance of recognising and developing these soft capital forms, if more tangible physical and financial capital is to be generated. Collectively the data emphasise that organisations do not collaborate, people do. Collaboration is fundamentally a social rather than business process. Three dimensions of collaborative compatibility are discussed that recognise the importance of involving competent individuals that are socially compatible if relationships between potentially compatible organisations are to thrive. Organisational compatibility alone will not lead to effective collaboration. This study makes four contributions to existing knowledge. A 3-dimensional model of collaborative compatibility, interpreted in the context of a new typology of collaboration processes, extends existing collaboration theory with insights into the way collaboration relationships form and perform, and the way they are affected by individual and social factors. The recognition of latency in intermediate forms of value makes a contribution to a recognised shortfall in understanding of the temporal dimension of the value literature. In the third, a contribution is made to literature on coopetition and the coordination of inter-firm groups, through the recognition of effective practices in 3rd party brokering organisations. Finally, an incremental contribution is made to the extensive body of knowledge and learning literature through insights into the social factors driving knowledge transfer in inter-organisational groups, and the implications these have for organisational knowledge absorption. These four avenues each have practical implications for how organisations and policy makers plan initiatives to increase economic activity through inter-firm collaboration.