Collaborative Interorganizational Relationships in a Project-Based Industry

The project-based construction industry finds itself in a paradoxical situation: while it weighs heavily in the world economy, it does have a history of low productivity. One important issue that plagues the industry is related to the challenges that stem from collaborative efforts (or lack thereof) between actors. The objective of this paper is to explore how actors of the construction industry organize their inter-firm relationships while examining the characteristics of such interactions and the elements affecting them (drivers, barriers, facilitators, outcomes). These interactions and elements were uncovered using a systematic literature review. A qualitative content analysis was carried out to categorize these elements and to generate dimensions describing the forms. The 139 articles retrieved depicted 12 relational forms established between construction companies (in descending order of citation): partnering, alliancing, project delivery methods, supply chain integration, joint ventures, integrated project delivery, joint risk management, collaborative design, contingent collaboration, quasi-fixed network, resource sharing, and collaborative planning. A multitude of drivers, barriers, facilitators, and outcomes were found. An analysis of the results led to the conceptualization of a multidimensional profile, which allows for a practical and flexible identification of the relationship form potential partners in the construction sector intend to establish. To provide guidelines for the implementation of this profile, a three-step framework was developed.

Value for all? Dynamics of partnership formation in occupational healthcare collaboration

Interorganizational relationships take advantages of surrounding networks to create value. However, there is little processual understanding of how cooperative partnerships ‘work’ in healthcare collaboration. From the value creation perspective, their mobilization, management and maintenance are challenging. To understand the value of cooperative partnerships, we explore the dynamics of partnership formation in occupational healthcare collaboration. The empirical data is based on a two-year qualitative case study examining e-value co-creation in healthcare. The research data was obtained through a participatory action research method. We facilitated and followed up a developmental process of the partnership between an occupational health service company and its customer organization. This partnership aimed to add strategic value through the co-creation method to improve the well-being of employees and to promote eHealth solutions. In analyzing the data, we adopted a process orientation that allowed us to explore dynamics in partnership formation and its e-value co-creation. We used Ring and Van de Ven’s [1] framework to examine how cooperative interorganizational relationship develops through the stages of negotiation, commitment and execution. Our longitudinal case study analysis reveals how interaction, mutual sensemaking and institutional logics affect partnership and its value creation. The results show that the formation of a cooperative partnership is a challenging inter-organizational learning process. Our study demonstrates three tensions characterizing the dynamics of partnership: asymmetrical roles and positions between partners (customer and service provider) in co-creation, exploitation of institutionalized practices versus the exploration of new methods for collaboration, and tradeoffs between the operational logic and the co-creation logic. To create value for all in cooperative partnership, we emphasize the necessity of dialogue, mutual trust, interorganizational learning and processual feedback of accomplishments. At its best, cooperative partnership in healthcare collaboration can challenge existing practices of service provision and develop new concepts, roles and tools to promote health and well-being at workplaces through co-creation as a working method in occupational health collaboration.

Examining the Relationship between Information Systems, Sustainable SCM, and Competitive Advantage

Sustainability, information systems (IS), and sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) are the main research areas of this study. In an era where environmental and social responsibility is becoming increasingly more important, SSCM is very significant for the survivability and competitiveness of organizations. Information systems may facilitate sustainable practices, as they support supply chain processes, decrease costs, and enable the control and monitoring of operations. The aim of this research is to explore the relationship between information systems and SSCM and explain under what circumstances they could lead to competitive advantage or increase internal business performance. To analyze the above, the methodology comprises a literature review enabling the understanding and conceptualization of the main research constructs and revealing the gaps of previous research. It also comprises qualitative research based on a single-case study allowing an in-depth examination of the subject of study. The findings reveal that the use of information systems, combined with strong interorganizational relationships and collaboration, can support SSCM practices. They can bring important business advantages, such as improved business performance and increased customer loyalty, but not necessarily competitive advantage. The results of this research show that SSCM is a promising field of study, with prospects for future research.

The impact of international interorganizational relationships on creativity: the local partner perspective in an emerging country

PurposeThis paper aims to understand how international interorganizational relationships (IORs) impact the organizational creativity of a local partner in an emerging country, and how the creative capacities of emerging countries firms are developing.Design/methodology/approachThe study is exploratory and qualitative, based on five IORs between European multinational corporations (MNCs) and Tunisian firms operating in the consumer goods sector analyzed using the Gioia method.FindingsThe results show that it seems necessary for firms in emerging countries first to be legitimate, then to have dynamic capacities (learning capacities in particular), and that they know how to develop an innovation strategy and implement it concretely. The authors highlight three different organizational mechanisms. The first concerns analyzing the legitimacy of the local partner to engage in an innovation process based on its distinctive capacities and formalization of procedures. The second involves building dynamic capabilities, especially technological and managerial skills, in order to meet the challenges of the growing collaboration between the partners and to expand their mandate. The third deals with implementing an innovation strategy on two fronts: trust between partners and sustainable innovation.Research limitations/implicationsThe contributions focus on the international dimension of the IORs' impact on creativity and the role of the local partner's creative capacities. The work highlights to what extent “techno-centric” creativity plays a role in the absorption capacity of local partners, as well as the level of assistance provided by MNCs for developing innovation in emerging countries' firms. Moreover, our results show that increasing awareness of ecological and responsible consumption is reorienting production patterns on both local and global scales and offers many benefits for local and multinational firms. The limitations concern the sample size, the narrow diversity of the sector and the lack of information regarding multinational firms.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper is to show the construction of the creative process at the level of the local partner, from the execution of a specification to the implementation of a sustainable innovation strategy.

In Cloud We Trust? Co-opting Occupational Gatekeepers to Produce Normalized Trust in Platform-Mediated Interorganizational Relationships

Interorganizational trust plays an important role in facilitating business relationships, especially for the organizational adoption of new services. Prior research suggests that interorganizational trust develops when the trustor has adequate confidence in the reliability of the trustee’s services. Nevertheless, reliability breakdowns are also an inevitable part of service provisioning. Such breakdowns are especially prominent and visible in the context of platform-based services. Yet platform-based services continue to be adopted and used by organizational customers. This increased adoption and use of such services despite their inconsistent reliability pose the following question. How is trust produced in platform-mediated interorganizational relationships? To examine this question, I conducted a 20-month field study of a cloud computing platform provider and its customers, focusing on the practices of trust production in the wake of reliability breakdowns. Here, I describe customer concerns about the platform’s inconsistent reliability that hampered the development of interorganizational trust. I then identify four practices of trust work enacted by the platform provider to address some of these concerns and to co-opt the occupational gatekeepers in customer organizations who are responsible for technology adoption decisions. Following this, I describe how and why these occupational gatekeepers performed justification work to rationalize the continued use of the platform despite its inconsistent reliability. Together, trust work and justification work facilitate the coproduction of interorganizational trust through normalizing reliability breakdowns as “business-as-usual” events. Synthesizing these findings, I developed a normalization model of trust production, and discuss the implications of normalized trust for platform-mediated interorganizational relationships in the digital economy.

Clusters or networks: interorganizational relationships influence on Brazilian hotel performance

Purpose Although interorganizational relationships are acknowledged as positive for tourism, studies on the subject fail to systematically analyze the joint effects of relationships with different types of organizations. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of the interaction between different types of interorganizational relationships over a hotel firm’s performance. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire applied to hotel managers was used to assess hotel relationships. Hotel performance was assessed through Trip Advisor information. Structural equations modeling (SEM) was used for data analysis. Findings Results reveal that only relationships with other hotels had a significant influence on performance. The competition had a negative effect on hotel performance, as well as on horizontal and support organization relationships. Relationships with support organizations presented a significant effect on the formation of relationships between companies (horizontal and vertical) and mediated the negative effect of competition over horizontal relations. Practical implications Hotel relationships are idiosyncratic and path-dependent, hence monitoring and copying competitors’ relationships is not advisable. Hotels may improve their productive integration by relating with support organizations. From a destination management perspective, results show that support organizations facilitate interfirm relationships and productive integration within a destination. Originality/value The paper systematically analyzes the influence of different interorganizational relationships and competition on hotel performance. Empirical results contradict some aspects of networks and clusters. Some relationships may have positive effects on destinations, but not on hotel firms. Additionally, support organizations play a central role on interfirm relationship formation and maintenance.

Interorganizational Information Systems: A Study of Practice

Interorganizational relationships are initiatives between organizations that aim to facilitate resource sharing and information exchange. In this context, information systems are developed to support the involved organizations, often encompassing several smaller systems. However, little is known about interorganizational information systems (IOIS), especially regarding their state of practice. This paper investigates the use of IOISs in real scenarios. For this, we performed a non-systematic search of IOISs examples and identified repositories on GitHub about these systems. Hence, it was possible to map a set of sources and requirements that help understand how IOISs work and why they are adopted.