Managing Tensions in Co-Opetitive Inter-Organisational Relationships
Managing Tensions in Co-Opetitive Inter-Organisational Relationships: Co-Operation, Competition and Control
Professor Jennifer Grafton
Department of Accounting and Business Information Systems
The University of Melbourne, Australia
In this paper we investigate the management and control of co-opetitive collaborations, a specific form of inter-organisational relationship involving collaborative efforts between direct competitors. We undertake case-based enquiries to identify specific control challenges in these collaborations, and analyse the control mechanisms employed in response to these tensions. We study four co-opetitive collaborations in the independent publishing sector that have overlapping membership, allowing us to investigate these control issues as they apply both within and across collaborations. We provide a multi-faceted perspective of the management and control of these collaborations gleaned by considering the opinions of, and information provided by, all the members to each of the alliances we consider. Further, where collaboration between the independent publishing houses is with respect to dealings with suppliers or customers we also collect evidence on the collaboration from these parties.
Our findings provide insights into the inherent control tensions in co-opetitive inter-firm activities, in which the desire to co-operate with direct competitors must be carefully balanced against inevitable misappropriation concerns. We report on the significant role of management control mechanisms in balancing competitive and co-operative forces. Informal controls, consisting largely of social controls, are critical to the establishment and continuation of these collaborative activities. Importantly, notions of ‘enlightened self interest’, established from the careful assessment of the economics of the relationship between parties, underpin this reliance on social controls. Formal controls, including both output and behavioural controls, are much less prevalent in the management of the collaborative relationships and the informal mechanisms adopted heavily influences their design. Finally, in contrast to the dyadic approach traditionally adopted in studies of inter-organisational collaborations, we depict the nexus of control that extends across these collaborations and weaves together the collective activities of a broader industry network. This evident inter-play of controls demonstrates the importance of progressing research into the governance and control of inter-firm relations beyond the study of simple dyadic relations.
Jeudi, 31 mars, 2011 : 10:00 to 11:30
Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton (1er étage, secteur jaune)
HEC Montréal
3000, chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine
Montréal
