This multiple case study examines organizational processes in two municipalities’ school improvement works with the aim of providing accessible learning environments for all students. Different levels of the Swedish education system share the responsibility for improving schools to provide high-quality education for all learners. Previous research shows that it is a complex task to carry that out in practice. The complexity comes from the fact that different levels and parts of the education system need to be coordinated in solving the assignment, and that it is possible to interpret how to carry out the assignment through performance in practice in a number of different ways. The aim of this study is to examine and create knowledge about organizational processes in school improvement for accessible learning environments that bring multiple schools together. The theoretical approach has been organization from a constructivist perspective where organization is seen as a constant doing. Theories about sensemaking, organizational learning as well as governance and management have provided a theoretical framework. Questions about what happens in organizational processes when coordinating the development work of several schools’ joint activities and what opportunities and challenges can be brought up in the organizing have been guiding. Documents from the two municipalities’ school improvement works have been analyzed and actors within the school systems have been interviewed on the basis of themes. The findings showed that school improvement for accessible learning environments is an ongoing dynamic activity that cannot be seen as a linear process with a beginning and an end. The findings also showed that sensemaking about what accessible learning environments can be and how it can be created is ongoing and based on each person´s previous experience but also generates in organizational learning. It was apparent that leaders cannot control and manage how the schools perceive or carry out the assignment in practice, but they can create a common framework. Leaders together with employees, students and others within and outside the school system could meet within that common framework, to collaborate and jointly explore and create future initiatives based on each other's experiences in the work of creating a school for all. These meetings could provide the conditions for responsive decision-making.

This dissertation aims to examine the relationship between interorganizational collaboration and the implementation of urban greening policy. Specifically, it discusses bonding and bridging relationships that explain a successful interorganizational collaboration, and to what extent these factors explain the perception of success in the implementation of public programs. The effects of risks of collaboration on the implementation of urban greening policy are also studied. To frame the analysis, this dissertation uses Feiock's institutional collective action (ICA) framework, which aims to understand successful interorganizational collaboration and policy implementation across sectors. The collection of data was carried out in Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia, which is located in the center of Saudi Arabia. In this study, the unit of analysis is the networks of relationships among organizations that work with the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC). The data were obtained from 44 organizations collaborating to implement urban greening projects in Riyadh City and were collected over 17 days from June 15, 2019 to July 2, 2019. The sampling technique used in this study was snowball sampling. The main statistical methods employed for hypothesis examination were social network analysis (SNA) and ordinary least squares (OLS). The key empirical results indicated that there were 12 major organizations most central within the network (i.e., 11 public organizations, and 1 private organization). Also, the findings revealed that among the 12 organizations, the most central organization within the network was the Ministry of Environment, Water, & Agriculture. Further, the empirical findings indicated that bonding relationships among organizations increase the levels of perceived success in the collaboration to implement urban greening projects. The results indicated that network betweenness (bridging) has no statistically significant effect on the perceived success in interorganizational collaboration. The findings revealed that the three categories of collaboration risks, coordination problems, division problems, and defection problems have no statistically significant effects on perceived success in the collaboration to implement urban greening projects. Overall, the hypotheses were partially supported by the results of the analyses. This dissertation builds upon and expands the application of the ICA framework by using it in an international context. It can inform public managers in public organizations in addition to other organizations that work in a variety of areas regarding the implications of collaborative work. The results may encourage organizations to successfully collaborate with other organizations in adopting policies for climate change adaptation such as urban greening to mitigate the effects of future climatic events. Finally, this study indicates its limitations and future research directions.

Les Environnements Virtuels Immersifs (EVI) peuvent être utilisés pour amener des utilisateurs, répartis géographiquement ou co-localisés, à partager un même monde virtuel pour collaborer. Si l’on compare aux situations distantes, les utilisateurs d’une immersion co-localisée collaborent aussi dans le monde virtuel, mais a contrario, partagent physiquement un même espace de travail. Cette co-localisation facilite le travail collaboratif en permettant des communications directes et des interactions sans médiation informatique entre les utilisateurs.Avec le développement de l'affichage multi-utilisateur et de la technologie de tracking, les dispositifs immersifs classiques basés sur la rétroprojection (ex. CAVE) peuvent offrir maintenant l'immersion pour plusieurs utilisateurs co-localisés en affichant différentes vues stéréoscopiques sans distorsion visuelle pour chacun d’eux. Dans ce contexte, la coexistence de l'information du monde virtuel et réel, en particulier lorsque les utilisateurs ne partagent pas un référentiel spatial commun, offre aux utilisateurs une nouvelle expérience perceptive et cognitive. Dans cette thèse nous nous sommes intéressés à la façon dont les utilisateurs se perçoivent et communiquent entre eux pour atteindre un contexte commun pour la collaboration, et aux moyens permettant d’élargir des scénarios collaboratifs déjà pris en charge dans ce type de dispositifs, basés sur des techniques de contrôle plus flexible des points de vue des utilisateurs. Cette thèse de doctorat traite donc principalement des problèmes perceptifs et de cohabitation que nous avons identifiés dans l’objectif d’assurer la sécurité et l’efficacité des collaborations co-localisées dans les environnements virtuels immersifs. Tout d'abord, nous avons mené une étude de cas pour examiner comment les conflits perceptifs modifieraient la communication entre les utilisateurs et leur performance. Deuxièmement, nous avons conçu et évalué des paradigmes de navigation appropriés pour permettre la navigation virtuelle individuelle tout en résolvant les problèmes de la cohabitation dans un espace de travail partagé physiquement limité. Enfin, sur la base des résultats de ces travaux, nous avons proposé un modèle dynamique générique qui intègre des contraintes de l'espace de travail physique et aussi ceux du monde virtuel pour gérer la collaboration co-localisée dans les systèmes immersifs multi-utilisateurs. / Immersive virtual environment can be used to bring both geographically distributed and co-located users to the same virtual place for collaboration. Compared to remote situations, co-located users collaborate in the same virtual world on top of a shared physical workspace. This collocation allows direct user communication and interaction without computer mediation which facilitates collaborative work. With the development of multi-user display and tracking technology, classical projection-based immersive setups (e.g. CAVE) can now support group immersion for co-located users by offering individual stereoscopic views without visual distortion. In this context, the coexistence of information from the virtual and real world, especially when users do not share a common spatial reference frame, provides users with a new kind of perceptual and cognitive experience. We are interested in how users perceive and communicate with each other to achieve a shared context for collaboration, and how we can broaden supported collaborative scenarios with more flexible viewpoint control.This PhD thesis mainly addresses perceptual and cohabitation issues that we identified in the aim of supporting safe and efficient co-located collaboration in immersive virtual environment. First, we conducted a case study to examine how perceptual conflicts would alter user communication and task performance. Second, we concentrated on the design and evaluation of appropriate navigation paradigms to allow individual virtual navigation while solving cohabitation problems in a shared limited physical workspace. At last, based on the results of previous studies, we designed a generic dynamic navigation model which integrates constrains from the physical workspace and also the virtual world to enable co-located collaboration in multi-user immersive systems.

Depuis près d'une décennie, les outils issus du Web 2.0 s'insèrent dans la sphère de l'entreprise et sont présentés comme participant d'un changement technologique et managérial majeur. Pour autant, on constate des lacunes théoriques dans la caractérisation des régimes collaboratifs proposés par ces nouveaux objets, réunis sous la bannière du Social Software. Nous proposons ici d'explorer les dimensions à travers lesquelles les objets de Social Software proposent un renouvellement des régimes collaboratifs. Ce projet nous amène d'abord à présenter les évolutions techniques et paradigmatiques entre Groupware et Social Software. Dans un deuxième temps, nous réalisons une exploration empirique du champ via l'analyse des discours commerciaux d'éditeurs de Social Software et la présentation de quatre dispositifs que nous qualifions au regard des taxonomies issues des champs du Computer Supported Cooperative Work et de l'Entreprise 2.0. Nous enrichissons cette analyse par la modélisation des trajectoires d'évolution des quatre dispositifs faisant l'objet de nos études de cas, au travers d'un cadre conceptuel centré sur l'objet technique. Enfin, nous proposons un cadre inédit pour la caractérisation des régimes de collaboration proposés par les dispositifs de Social Software. Cette recherche nous amène à rediscuter des liens entre les technologies et les modalités de pilotage de l'action collective dans les organisations. / For the last decade, Web 2.0 tools have entered the corporate sphere and are considered as part of a major technical and managerial shift. However, there is still a lack of theoretical framework to define the collaborative regimes that the new objects of Social Software carry. In this dissertation, we explore the dimensions through which Social Software objects offer a renewal of collaborative regimes. First, we highlight the technical and paradigmatic evolutions between Groupware and Social Software. Then we carry an empirical exploration of the field of Social Software, by analyzing publishers' commercial discourse and presenting four devices that we describe through the taxonomical frameworks of Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Enterprise 2.0. This analysis is supplemented by the modelization of the four devices' evolution paths, relying on a conceptual framework that focuses on the technical object. Finally, we suggest a novel framework to define the collaboration regimes proposed by Social Software devices. This research leads us to further discuss the links between technology and the management of collaboration.

The increase in the complexity of social and societal problems that even a large actor cannot solve alone has caused pressure on many sectors, organizations and entities making the need for collaboration to be more urgent. This is because collaboration enables merging financial resources, human resources, and expertise needed to tackle complex problems. However, the increased failure of collaborations requests greater consideration and investigation of the challenges in collaboration. The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges in inter-organizational collaboration at management and employee level. To fulfill this purpose, inter-organizational collaboration towards open Skåne 2030 strategy was used as a case study. The empirical data showed that there are challenges in both the management and employee level in inter- organizational collaboration. Some of these challenges are similar for both levels while others are different. Further, the study also found that political influence is a major challenge in inter- organizational collaboration. The study makes a contribution to the adaptation of the Thomson and Perry (2006), model of collaboration process. The adapted model in the study serves to enlighten collaborators that challenges in inter-organizational collaboration are inter-linked.Keywords: Inter-organizational collaboration, collaboration process, management level, employee level.

Au travers du concept de « cultures de collaboration », la thèse propose une perspective située, c’est-a-dire ancrée dans une situation donnée, s’inscrivant dans le prolongement des travaux (CSCW, CSCL) menés sur la collaboration et des efforts engagés à définir sa qualité. Selon l’objectif visant a interroger les pratiques collaboratives et les valeurs de la collaboration sous-jacentes, deux études de cas ont été conduites. Suivant une approche interculturelle, la première contraste les représentations sociales de la collaboration, “idéales” et situées, d’élèves-ingenieurs de Télécom ParisTech en France et de TokyoTech au japon. Suivant une approche développementale et dialogique, la seconde questionne le développement et la qualité des cultures des collaboration au travers des interactions de deux groupes d’élèves-ingénieurs de Télécom ParisTech engagés dans le dispositif PACT visant à favoriser l’apprentissage de la collaboration dans des activités de conception créative. Dans le cadre des analyses présidant a ces deux études, une méthode d’évaluation de la qualité de la collaboration (“Q.C2”) multi-dimensionnelle a été élaborée en appui sur sa précédente version (“Q.C”). Les contributions empiriques de ces travaux permettent d’identifier l’influence du contexte culturel, de la temporalité ainsi que de la qualité des processus affectifs de l’activité sur le développement, la nature et la finalité de la collaboration, autrement dit, ce qui définit une culture de collaboration. / On the basis of the concept of “cultures of collaboration”, this thesis offers a situated perspective, i.e anchored in a given situation, within the framework of CSCW and CSCL research, on the study of collaboration and the evaluation of it quality. In order to question collaborative practices and their associated values, two case studies have been carried. Following an intercultural approach, the first study compares social representations of collaboration, “ideal” and situated, of engineering-students of Telecom ParisTech in France and TokyoTech in Japan. According to a developmental and dialogic approach, the second study analyses the development and the quality of cultures of collaboration in interactions of two groups of Telecom ParisTech engineering-students taking part in the PACT course, whose aim is to encourage collaborative learning in creative engineering design activities. A multi-dimensional assessment method of the quality of collaboration (“Q.C2”), based on a previous version (“Q.C”), has been developed within the framework of the analysis of these two studies. Empirical contributions of this work allow the identification of the influence of cultural context, of temporality and of the quality of affective dimensions of activity on the development, the nature and the objectives of collaboration, understood in terms of the concept of cultures of collaboration.

The purpose of this study was to examine the essential elements of a community of practice intended to increase communication and collaboration between traditional public and charter school leaders. Members of the Los Angeles Cohort of the School Leaders Network participated in this study. This case study triangulated observation, interview, and document review data to identify the factors that were most beneficial to this particular community of practice. Drawing on the research of communities of practice, constructivism, and leadership theory, these factors were articulated into five domains with the hope that, with further research, this framework could influence the creation of additional communities of practice between traditional public and charter school leaders. This framework, including indicators and action steps to aid in creating a community of practice, identified five key factors: knowledge, relationships, authenticity, constructivism, and leadership. The convergence of these five domains pointed to two key take-aways: Communities of practice must create a risk-free environment in which sharing can occur so that participants can use storytelling as a vehicle for the exchange of ideas. Essential in creating this environment is the influence of a skilled facilitator who can drive these conversations. Ultimately, in sharing stories and building community, these communities of practice are meant to further the cause of a socially just education for all students regardless of the type of schools they attend.

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Today sustainability is a broadly discussed concept all over the globe due to the threat of climate change driven by human activities. Therefore, collective efforts are needed to raise awareness to conserve environmental health and sustainability, and sustainable development is to be prioritized in all organizations. Sweden demonstrates a high commitment to developing sustainability in practice through the collective effort of Swedish society. China is Sweden’s largest international trade partner in Asia. This thesis explores the strategies, facilitators, and challenges for Swedish firms pursuing sustainability goals while collaborating with Chinese partners. A single case study on a SwedishMNC, IKEA is presented to conduct the thesis. IKEA demonstrates the strategy of sustainable collaboration with Chinese partners. The analysis determines that close collaboration to co-create value, regular audits, and balancing the three aspects of sustainable development, economic, social, and environmental, are needed for a Swedish firm to pursue its sustainability goals while collaborating with Chinese partners.