Sustainable Interorganisational Collaboration

The notion of multiple organisations ‘collaborating’ in order to meet their individual corporate objectives has become commonplace. Some involve long-term agreements and the creation of new organisational entities, major changes in existing operational arrangements, independent financial status, and high expectations of major gains.

It is these types of collaborative effort that are of most interest. They involve mutually beneficial and well-defined relationships, jointly developed structures, a commitment to mutually-agreed goals and the notion of shared responsibility. In these collaborations, organisations risk not only resources but also their individual reputations. The stakes are, therefore, higher than in instances where there is only an agreement to cooperate or to coordinate while retaining the same organisational structure and independent status.

The specific research questions related to this area of study include: What initial factors underlie the creation of collaborative effort? What factors determine particular structures used to coordinate joint activities and decisions of the partners to collaboration? When, and to what extent is collaboration perceived to be successful? How is collaboration sustained over many years?

Contact Information

Professor Alan Smith