Interorganizational collaboration
Subtitle: the case of college-auto industry partnerships in Ontario
By: by Daniel J. Patterson.
Published: 2005
Language: eng
Number of pages: 201
Subjects: Academic-industrial collaboration -- Ontario -- Case studies.; Automobile industry and trade -- Vocational guidance -- Ontario -- Case Studies.
Genres: Case studies.; Case Studies.
Description: This study examines the dynamics of college-industry partnerships through the case of a partnership between Niagara College in Ontario and the General Motors, St. Catharines division.While industry partnerships are increasingly important to community colleges, the colleges lack practical models for effectively developing, resourcing and managing such partnerships.The analysis found that Austin's model was a helpful framework to understand more systematically and strategically, how the partnership evolved, the dynamics of its evolution, and how it can be managed and sustained over time. The research underscored the importance of interpersonal relationships in the partnership dynamics, the impact of external factors and organizational adaptation on the partnership, and the complexity of partnership evolution. The study also advances a number of suggestions to help practitioners understand partnership dynamics, and suggests additional tools and recommendations in planning collaborative activities with the automotive industry in particular, and the manufacturing sector in general.James Austin's (2000) theoretical model of collaboration offers a promising framework in which to view college-industry interorganizational collaboration. The model is based on a continuum of stages in collaborative relationships, from philanthropic to transactional to integrative. It also identifies a set of alliance drivers and enablers which help move partnerships along the continuum.Multiple methods of data collection were used for the case study, including an historical review of the files between 1992 and 2002 respecting the evolution of the partnership between Niagara College and General Motors, St. Catharines division. To enhance the case findings, structured interviews were conducted with a General Motors administrator along with representatives of three other colleges involved in auto industry partnerships. The respondents were asked to provide comments and reactions on the model's practicality and applicability to college-auto partnerships in Ontario.
Notes: Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2005.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 191-201).