Collaborative Communities of Firms [electronic resource] : Purpose, Process, and Design /
Bøllingtoft, Anne.editor.
Donaldson, Lex.editor.
Huber, George P.editor.
Håkonsson, Dorthe Døjbak.editor.
Snow, Charles C.editor.
Faced with the ever-accelerating pace of technological change and the restructuring of markets, many firms have been questioning the appropriateness of their own organizational structure and effectiveness. Consequently, we have witnessed much organizational experimentation and the development of new forms of organizing over the last decade.  Firms are more dependent than ever on the need for continuous and radical innovations - and often innovations that go beyond their existing businesses. This challenges firms in terms of knowledge and idea sharing, and often necessitates the need to expand beyond the boundaries of the single firm for multi-party collaboration to meet serious challenges and develop creative solutions.   Drawing from the Fourth International Workshop on Organization Design, and featuring contributions from an international array of specialists, this volume focuses on the expansion beyond the boundaries of the single firm and multi-firm networks, to include, for example, community-based organization designs. A community is a connected set of firms; the connections can take on many different dimensions. For organization design theory, community-based organizations have many implications. For one, organization design theory has to identify and describe designs that enhance collaborative behavior among firms without restricting the ability of the individual firm to continue to compete within its own marketplace. Moreover, organization design theory also has to identify and describe information processing strategies and designs that allow the continuous generation, sharing, and application of existing information and knowledge.    The development of effective collaborative community designs is critically important to the global economy because, increasingly, our future depends on pursuing shared goals and sustainably developing our global commons. Ideally, the ideas and findings in this book will contribute to increased attention to new organization designs capable of meeting 21st-century opportunities and challenges.
Description based upon print version of record.
Collaborative Communities of Firms; Contents; Contributors; Chapter 1: Introduction; 1.1 Evolution of Collaboration Within and Between Organizations; 1.2 Purposes and Benefits of Collaboration; 1.3 Emerging Organization Designs for Innovation via Collaboration; 1.4 Conclusion; References; Part I: Collaborative Capabilities and Processes; Chapter 2: Open Innovation Networks: The Evolution of Bureaucratic Control; 2.1 Introduction; 2.2 Open Innovation Networks as a Community-Based Organizational Form; 2.2.1 Trust and Culture in the Community-Based Organizational Form
2.2.2 Bureaucratic Control in the Community-Based Organizational Form2.2.3 Government Involvement in Open-Innovation Networks; 2.3 Methods; 2.3.1 Setting; 2.3.2 Data Collection; 2.3.3 Data Analysis; 2.4 Findings; 2.4.1 Phase 1: Mobilizing the Networks with Emphasis on Private Interests; 2.4.2 Phase 2: Tightening Bureaucratic Control with Emphasis on Public Interests; 2.4.3 Phase 3: Adaptation to Balance Private and Public Interests; 2.5 Discussion and Implications; 2.5.1 Implications for Community-Based OD Literature; 2.5.2 Implications for the Control Literature
2.5.3 Implication for Practice2.5.4 Limitations and Conclusion; References; Chapter 3: Network or Matrix? How Information-Processing Theory Can Help MNCs Answer This Question; 3.1 The Need for MNCs to Use Multidimensional Strategies; 3.2 Defining Characteristics of the Network Organization and the Matrix Structure; 3.2.1 Network Organizations; 3.2.2 Matrix Structures; 3.3 Information Processing in a Network Organization and in a Matrix Structure; 3.4 Some Contingency Variables Relevant to the Choice Between Network Organization and Matrix Structure
3.4.1 Contingency Variable 1: Relative Importance of an MNC's Need for Local Adaptation and Global Integration3.4.2 Contingency Variable 2: Need for Cross-Border Learning; 3.4.3 Contingency Variable 3: Relative Importance of Exploration and Exploitation for an MNC; 3.4.4 Contingency Variable 4: Average Level of Cultural and Geographic Distance Existing Between the Home and Host Countries of an MNC; 3.5 Summary and Conclusions; References; Chapter 4: Participation in Innovation Communities: Strategies and Contingencies; 4.1 Introduction
4.2 Innovation Communities and Organizational Transparency4.3 Designing Organizational Interfaces for Transparency; 4.3.1 Organizational Interface Design; 4.3.2 Task Structure Design; 4.3.3 Control of Employee Participation; 4.4 Contingency Factors Affecting the Firm's Transparency Strategy; 4.5 Implications for Organization Design Theory and Practice; 4.6 Conclusions; References; Chapter 5: Interfirm Communities: Neither Weak nor Strong Ties; 5.1 Introduction; 5.2 Knowledge Exchange in Social Networks; 5.2.1 Knowledge Exchange in Social Networks: Contingent Factors
5.2.2 Critique of the Traditional Framework
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Faced with the ever-accelerating pace of technological change and the restructuring of markets, many firms have been questioning the appropriateness of their own organizational structure and effectiveness. Consequently, we have witnessed much organizational experimentation and the development of new forms of organizing over the last decade.  Firms are more dependent than ever on the need for continuous and radical innovations - and often innovations that go beyond their existing businesses. This challenges firms in terms of knowledge and idea sharing, and often necessitates the need to expand beyond the boundaries of the single firm for multi-party collaboration to meet serious challenges and develop creative solutions.   Drawing from the Fourth International Workshop on Organization Design, and featuring contributions from an international array of specialists, this volume focuses on the expansion beyond the boundaries of the single firm and multi-firm networks, to include, for example, community-based organization designs. A community is a connected set of firms; the connections can take on many different dimensions. For organization design theory, community-based organizations have many implications. For one, organization design theory has to identify and describe designs that enhance collaborative behavior among firms without restricting the ability of the individual firm to continue to compete within its own marketplace. Moreover, organization design theory also has to identify and describe information processing strategies and designs that allow the continuous generation, sharing, and application of existing information and knowledge.    The development of effective collaborative community designs is critically important to the global economy because, increasingly, our future depends on pursuing shared goals and sustainably developing our global commons. Ideally, the ideas and findings in this book will contribute to increased attention to new organization designs capable of meeting 21st-century opportunities and challenges.
Industrial organization.
Industrial Organization.
Information and Organization Design Series