The configuration of inter-organizational relations

Abstract

Based on recent literature on the impact of inter-organizational information systems (IOS) on industrial organization, this paper proposes a framework for research into the interdependencies between IOS and coordination strategy. The elements of the framework are: (1) market structure; (2) governance forms; (3) relationship dimensions and (4) enterprise resources. It is suggested that these four elements at the same time affect and are affected by coordination strategy which focuses on inter-organizational relations. The research proposition is that inter-organizational arrangements have to be interpreted as complex, multi-layer configurations of organizational parameters. The composition and flexible adaptation of these configurations – rather than the selection of one efficient governance form – and the related design of IOS are the major tasks of coordination strategy. The design parameters are related to the elements of the framework: (1) the position of the enterprise in inter-organizational relations, be it a network, groups of networks or markets; (2) combinations of governance forms with different partners; (3) combinations of governance forms within a given network of relations referring to the different layers in inter-organizational relations, namely the institutional, operational and technical layers and (4) combinations of (inter-) organizational arrangements for the use and development of resources. EUROSELECT, a horizontal network of European grocery wholesalers, is used as an example to illustrate how different contingencies affect the inter-organizational design and why the complex configuration of relations is chosen.