Assessing Collaborative Capabilities for Sustainability in Interorganizational Networks

Abstract

Sustainability in interorganizational networks depends on developing collaborative capabilities for this purpose. However, to improve their collaborative capabilities for sustainability (CCS), companies in interorganizational networks need methods to assess them. The existing CCS assessment approaches in the literature do not indicate what capabilities should be improved in an individual company to support collaborative strategies. Addressing this gap, the main contribution of this paper is providing a framework to assess CCS in interorganizational networks, providing support for improving firm-level capabilities. To attain this aim, the framework was based on the graph-theoretic approach (GTA), a multi-attribute technique that captures the interrelationships between elements of a system, providing multi-level and overall assessment. We tested the framework in three hotels from a tourism cluster in Brazil, where sustainability has been an unsettling issue. By applying the assessment framework, it was possible to generate a CCS index for each company and, thereby, to compare the results. Findings from the field confirmed the benefits of using the framework and its utility in assessing CCS and setting priorities for improvement.