Multi-agency collaboration is often advocated as a means of tackling cross-cutting areas of public services and viewed as a solution to service fragmentation, with local agencies on the receiving end of government exhortations to collaborate. Yet there is relatively little research examining the effectiveness of policy tools and mechanisms aiming to stimulate local collaboration. This thesis examines the influence and dynamics of vertical and horizontal coordination tools, investigating their potential to enhance collaboration in local public service delivery networks and to reduce negative externalities. A theoretical framework is employed which synthesises models of policy implementation and bureaucratic decision-making. The empirical research is conducted in relation to organisations working with the homeless in England, and the research methods include a survey of Local Authorities and interviews with civil servants and frontline professionals. While governmental attempts to foster collaboration are partially effective, there are weaknesses with some of the policy tools employed, and limits to State control. Local actors’ collaborative decision-making is influenced more by ‘bottom-up’ than by ‘top-down’ factors. Moreover, the competitive context in which service providers operate leads them to pursue strategies to promote their own organisational interests rather than working towards a dominant common interest. The strategies employed are broadly in line with a bureaucratic politics perspective, and include failure to share information, possessiveness over client outcomes and projecting an image of success rather than sharing problems. Nevertheless, formal collaborative mechanisms do have the potential to alleviate externalities associated with fragmented systems. With strong local management and appropriate central facilitation, they can help to meet client needs and to counter fragmentation, ultimately leading to better services.

This study examines collaborative working in the provision of housing services, explored by focusing on military veterans as the client group. Military veterans are recognised as being over represented in the homeless population and they are one of the few employment groups who usually have to give up their homes when they give up their employment. Therefore, access to services that assist them into housing are likely to be an important resource for them. This study adopted a case study approach and an online survey to obtain empirical evidence to explore the extent of organisations working together to provide housing services for military veterans in Scotland. The work was underpinned by theoretical frameworks in governance, networks and partnership working. Governance theory provides an understanding of how state control impacts on organisational relationships and the fragmentation of public service delivery, with the associated drivers for collaborative working to provide cohesion into the system. Studying governance focuses attention on the blurring of organisational boundaries, which both enable and restrict partnership working. It requires actors to be prepared to take risks beyond their institutional boundaries to work with others; this is a barrier for some practitioners who do not have the remit to take such risks. The findings suggest veterans experience problems at the points of interaction with generic public service providers. Also, there is a perception that this group may have, or develop, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This perception may be over emphasised, however social housing providers are concerned about supporting this group in social housing tenancies. Three themes emerged from the study. Firstly, coherent, rational and strategic drivers for collaborative working exist and are clear. Secondly, the obstacles to this rational objective of collaborative working include differing organisational objectives and ethos and the effects of state control on different types of organisations. Actors have to overcome these barriers to work with others, in networks, in order to provide services resulting in messy and patchy delivery. Finally, service users are left to negotiate the resulting disjointed and chaotic service provision. The thesis concludes that organisational collaborations to house military veterans are relatively new, and the extent of this activity is likely to be low throughout Scotland. Whilst collaborative working does improve housing outcomes for some military veterans, as an overall strategy it fails to deliver for all.

PhD thesis / High-tech firms are no longer able to rely exclusively on their internal knowledge and technologies to respond effectively to current market dynamics. Instead, they frequently collaborate with external entities to access new technologies and share the costs and risks of the innovation process. However, the effectiveness of such collaborations is questioned by many executives. Yet, as these Product Development Collaborations (PDCs) become crucial for a firm’s growth and success in current times, executives and academics alike are paying growing attention to them. In marketing, PDC is an active research topic since 1999. However, the body of marketing knowledge on the PDC is scattered across several studies over an extended period of more than two decades. In addition, the extant marketing studies report results that are inconsistent on some PDC issues and have overlooked others. In particular, marketing strategy considerations, in terms of firm’s strategic capabilities and objectives, have received somewhat of a short shrift in the literature. My dissertation contributes to our marketing literature with (a) a systematic review study that synthesizes the current state of marketing knowledge on the topic, identifies the research lacunas, and sets a future research agenda; and (b) two theory-driven empirical studies that provide new insights and novel implications to enrich our understanding of PDCs, their relation to the firm’s marketing strategy, and provide clear guidance to practitioners on how to benefit most from their supplier collaborations. v Grounding on several theories, creating and using a unique dataset, and utilizing multiple research and econometric techniques, my dissertation empirically addresses the following two general research questions: RQ1. Can their functional (marketing, technological, and operations) capabilities lead firms into competency traps and hurt their innovation performance? How? Do international PDCs outperform domestic PDCs in combating the competency trap effect? When? RQ2. What is the appropriate PDC governance mechanism (joint ventures, agreements, or licenses) that would enhance innovation performance? How do governance and capabilities simultaneously impact innovation performance? How does the firm’s product positioning strategy (differentiation versus cost-leadership) interact with governance and capabilities to affect innovation outcomes? / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Many firms establish Product Development Collaborations (PDCs) with suppliers to innovate new products. Although PDCs have numerous advantages, they are ladened by various contractual hazards and risks. This raises concerns of many executives about their effectiveness. In this dissertation, I systematically review the existing marketing studies on the PDC topic. Then, building on my review, I empirically investigate several marketing strategy factors that impact a PDC's effectiveness in terms of enhancing the innovation performance of focal firms. Drawing on several theories, building and using a unique dataset, and utilizing multiple research and econometric techniques, I conduct two empirical studies to examine the impact of four strategic considerations (i.e., functional capabilities, international PDCs, PDC governance mechanisms, and positioning strategy) and their interactions on innovation performance of high-tech firms in PDCs. My results reveal various interesting and important relationships and interactions that advance our understating of PDCs, their relation to marketing strategy, and provide important managerial implications to practitioners.