Facilitating innovation in networks composed of non-mandated relations

Abstract

IntroductionThe concept of networking has gained significant attention from those involved in the comprehension of innovation processes. The ability of inter- firm networks to innovate may be considered an outcome of the energy actors intentionally inject into the process (Thorsrud, 1972). It is well-established knowledge that organisational development can be regarded as political processes in which actors' ability and willingness to exercise power plays a significant role (Clegg, 2002; Coopy, 1995; Coopey & Burgoyne, 2000; Elg & Johansson, 1997; Lukes, 2005). In the same way as the most powerful actor influences the outcomes of organisational development, innovation in networks can be understood as a consequence of interaction among mutual and conflicting interests (Elg & Johansson, 1997; Fox, 2000; Hâkansson & Johanson, 1988). Bringing in a perspective on political dynamics in inter-firm networks allows one to critique of the contemporary literature on networks, for such literature has a tendency to overlook how interdependencies become organised and established, due to willingness and ability of individuals to influence the process (e.g. Elg & Johansson, 1997; Foucault, 1980; Fox, 2000; Swan & Scarbrough, 2005; Vince, 2001). The question of how to utilise the participant's interests to speed up the process of innovation in inter-networks is fundamental to developing industrial clusters and firms' that prevail in the era of hyper-competition (Grabher, 1993).Power has traditionally been perceived in structural terms, i.e., as the constant influence party A holds over party B. If we, on the other hand, learn from the Machiavellian approach, power may be regarded as something that is distributed and exists as a consequence of actors' changing abilities and motivations to mobilise others for shared ends. Leaning from this perspective, power is not a constant force, but rather something that circulates due to the fact that different individuals' possess different intentions and abilities to explicate the interests of others who may not strive towards the same goals. Ideas stemming from Actor Network Theory have made substantial contributions to our understanding of how innovation processes in networks of nonmandated exchange relations materialise, due to the ability of strategic actors to set agendas and provide the underlying energy and reasoning required to obtain particular achievements (Callon, 1986). This perspective adheres well to the notion that power operates discursively, and that social transformation can be regarded as a consequence of the way in which words are used and arguments conveyed (Foucault, 1980). The study of how power operates discursively may be an appropriate approach for explaining the process that transforms networking into innovative, interdependent, and complementary roles. Although the structural characteristics of innovative networks have been thoroughly scrutinised, there is a relative lack of understanding of the methods and practices that transform non-mandated exchange relations into innovative and sustainable business networks.This paper, which builds on a seven years endeavour into facilitating an inter-firm network, argues that to speed up innovation processes among actors neither linked by value chain nor other task dependencies, requires facilitation that makes dialogical inquiries a part of the participant's everyday conversations. Building on Wittgenstein (1953 [1997]), language simulates reality and our ability to present meaningful pictures of this reality depends on how words are used in accordance with the rules embedded in a particular language game. Wittgenstein never provided any definition of languagegames. What he does, however, is emphasise the relational aspects of language-games and the situational dependence of language. Accordingly, meaning is difficult to develop solely by conceptualising a particular phenomenon, but develops on the background of a specific context where the vocabulary is taken into use (Wittgenstein, 1953 [1997]). …