Despite disaster managers’ best efforts, inter-organizational disaster management suffers from varying levels of success. One factor that is likely to account for these variations is team mutual understanding, also known as common ground. To validate the potential effect of common ground in disaster management, the thesis investigates common ground in several interviews with disaster managers and in an experimental study involving an inter-organizational disaster event scenario. Analysis of interviews revealed that disaster managers perceived gaps in understanding between responders, the importance of mutual understanding, and perceived common ground similarly to depictions in theory with a few exceptions. Analyses of the experimental study indicated that contextual factors of Team composition, Problem solving approach and Type of tasks differently impacted measures of performance and implicit coordination, and that implicit coordination partially mediated and supressed the relationship between contextual factors and decision quality. Findings suggest the variation in disaster managers’ performance can be ascribed to common ground, implicit coordination, and contextual factors. Moreover, results showed the satisfaction with outcome did not correlate with expert rated quality of decision; and that while satisfaction related to consensus and quality of the decision was linked to generating alternative ideas and debate. Collaboration proved to be more effective in public communication tasks, especially for homogenous team composition. The findings support initiatives for more cross-training and further lab and field experiments.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the formalization of inter-organizational partnerships and collaboration among staff members working together across primary care, mental health and addition organizations to provide services to adults with complex mental health and addiction needs. Phase I of the study provided an environmental scan of existing partnerships among Family Health Teams (FHTs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs), and the Mental Health and/or Addiction (MHA) organizations they partner with, in the province of Ontario (Canada). Phase II explored the relationship between formalization and a) administrative collaboration and b) and service delivery collaboration. The hypotheses proposed that staff members who are part of formalized partnerships would report higher levels of collaboration. Phase III explored how formal and informal partnerships and collaboration are experienced by the administrative and service provider staff members who work across FHTs, CHCs and MHAs organizations. Using a mixed methods approach, data were collected using electronic surveys and telephone interviews. The results of Phase I indicated that FHTs and CHCs in Ontario have between 1-3 partnerships with MHA organizations. Most are informal partnerships, have existed for less than 5 years, and most staff members (partners) interact on a monthly basis. The quantitative results of Phase II showed no significant relationship between formalization and either form of collaboration. The qualitative findings from Phase III provide two key contributions. First, the results of the interviews may help explain why collaboration was not higher in formalized partnerships, as demonstrated by the range of advantages and disadvantages experienced by administrators and service providers in both formal and informal partnerships. Second, the findings illuminate factors related to the process of creating and/or formalizing partnerships, suggesting that there may be other factors that mediate or have a direct impact on the relationship between formalization and collaboration. By bringing together the study findings, the study addresses a gap in the literature by proposing a pathway through which formalization may be associated with collaboration. The results of the study provide opportunities for future research to help improve the quality and accessibility of services to adults with complex mental health and addiction needs.

Over recent years, the study of industrial districts, and inter-organizational relations has become a major theme of interest in network research. Theories characterized by an increased inter-relatedness between heterogeneous actors and knowledge fields point to a new form of inter-organizational relationship development. This is basicly based on the idea of creating trust between firms to increase their chances of success and to keep pace with the development of all relevant technologies. In this thesis, we present some data from a research project we have conducted in OSTIM industrial district, Ankara, Turkey. First, we present the theoretical perspectives which appear relevant to such investigation, and which aims at developing a better a network model of the inter-organizational relations of district firms, as well as trust, informal contracts and centrality issues, particularly as regards technological innovation and technology transfer of firms, respectively. Moreover, the evidence presented in this thesis is unequivocal in noting that long term inter-organizational relations and trust may be a necessary and a sufficent condition for a small and medium sized enterprise (SME) to take its place in the center of a complex web of inter-organizational relations as seen in an industrial district.

This paper is aiming to discover the conditions and processes that facilitate and influence an efficient knowledge transfer in knowledge networks such as the inter-organizational SAP network SAPSA. Knowledge is a strategically important source for companies, not only because it fosters internal growth, but also because it leads to competitive advantage. In the last years the importance of knowledge networking has considerably increased and especially inter-organizational learning is considered to present a factor having critical influence on the success of a company. Through the participation in networks individuals are able to trade their knowledge and information with others experiences, ideas and expertise. Knowledge sharing and networking should hence be considered a highly social process, which is influenced by various factors and conditions. Through interviews with the different members and participative observation in the focus groups of the SAPSA network the importance and effect, these facilitating conditions were evaluated, drawing valuable conclusions on how to enhance the knowledge sharing process. It was found that the main problem of SAPSA was the low activity in the focus groups, which had a negative influence on the knowledge sharing processes. The problem however was not that the members did not consider knowledge networking per se as useful, in contrast almost all respondents regarded knowledge networking as highly beneficial stressed the advantages of knowledge sharing. This led to the assumption that the problem had to lie in the implementation of the knowledge sharing process. It furthermore was detected that for sharing different kinds of knowledge such as tacit and explicit knowledge, different forms of meeting proved to be more efficient than others and that form of knowledge and the conversion mode should be taken into consideration when deciding on the type of meeting. Various conditions were found to have impact on the efficiency of the knowledge sharing process, such as an optimal group size, the level of trust and commitment and the composition of a group and knowledge base. Furthermore communication was regarded to present an important issue having a big impact on the quality of the knowledge exchange. Management support from SAPSA and the respective user companies proved to be essential in order to increase motivation and commitment in the focus groups. Some strategic changes were considered to have a positive influence on the knowledge networking processes within SAPSA. The establishment of a clear consistent vision capturing all the different groups within the network would provide benefits in order to be able to motivate members to participate. Here the focus should lie on the decision makers, since those were the ones to have the ability to set incentives and provide resources for the users. In this process the difficulties to measure the positive outcomes of knowledge networking and the subsequent danger of an underinvestment into knowledge networking should be taken into consideration. SAPSA should increase their influence on the focus groups and provide more guidance, in order to assure the quality of the knowledge exchange in the meetings. A new communication strategy should be developed with focus on an Internet based forum, where users and management could interact with each other. Further research in other knowledge networks is necessary in order to increase the transferability of the gained results.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo analisar a configuraÃÃo de uma rede de cooperaÃÃo interorganizacional nos LenÃÃis Maranhenses, em seus elementos constitutivos e na sua dinÃmica de funcionamento, visando contribuir para a compreensÃo do fenÃmeno em um destino turÃstico isolado, de bases ecolÃgicas e do desenvolvimento do trade turÃstico local. No Brasil, os estudos sobre cooperaÃÃo interorganizacional ainda sÃo considerados relativamente recentes. No entanto, percebe-se a existÃncia de um nÃmero significativo de pesquisas realizadas com o intuito de traÃar um diagnÃstico sobre o tema levando em consideraÃÃo a realidade do PaÃs. No contexto do turismo, as redes de cooperaÃÃo interorganizacionais sÃo estabelecidas para proporcionar e consolidar um destino turÃstico. Sendo assim, tem-se como foco o estudo da cooperaÃÃo interorganizacional em bases locais, isto Ã, em uma comunidade dedicada à atividade turÃstica e isolada dos grandes centros receptores de turistas, como à o caso da cidade de Barreirinhas, na RegiÃo dos LenÃÃis Maranhenses. A pesquisa possui natureza qualitativa e, quanto aos objetivos, à analÃtica. Quanto aos meios, trata-se de uma pesquisa de campo na modalidade estudo de caso. Foram entrevistados 16 dirigentes de empresas, bem como 4 representantes de ÃrgÃos pÃblicos. A coleta de dados foi realizada mediante entrevistas semiestruturadas no perÃodo de 22 de julho e 01 de agosto de 2012. As categorias de anÃlise foram divididas em 4 grupos a fim de garantir o alcance dos objetivos propostos: (1) estratÃgica; (2) organizacional; (3) social; e (4) polÃtica. Na anÃlise dos resultados utilizou-se anÃlise de conteÃdo e do discurso, com o auxÃlio do Atlas Ti versÃo 6. Os resultados obtidos revelam que, em se tratando da dimensÃo estratÃgica, as aÃÃes de cooperaÃÃo estabelecidas sÃo mais centradas no nÃvel operacional que no estratÃgico, com a presenÃa de prÃticas competitivo-cooperativas entre as empresas. A dimensÃo organizacional mostra que o municÃpio ainda se encontra em processo de amadurecimento no que diz respeito à formaÃÃo de redes de cooperaÃÃo interorganizacional. A dimensÃo social, por sua vez, evidencia que as relaÃÃes entre os atores favorecem o compartilhamento de conhecimentos, informaÃÃes e experiÃncias, mas nÃo de forma igualitÃria. Por fim, a dimensÃo polÃtica revela que hà uma relaÃÃo conflituosa entre o poder pÃblico e as empresas. / This study aimed to analyze the configuration of a network of interorganizational cooperation in LenÃÃis Maranhenses in its constitutive elements and dynamic operation, aiming to contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon in a secluded destination, the ecological foundations and development of local tourism trade. In Brazil, studies on interorganizational cooperation are still considered relatively new. We notice the existence of a significant number of researches done in order to draw a diagnosis on the subject taking into account the reality of the country. In the context of tourism, networks of interorganizational cooperation are established to provide and nurture a tourist destination. Thus, we have focused on the study of interorganizational cooperation on a local, that is, a community dedicated to tourism and isolated from major centers of tourist receptors, such as the city of Barreirinhas in LenÃÃis Maranhenses . The research has a qualitative nature and the aims, is analytic. As for the media, it is a field research in form of case studies. We interviewed 16 business leaders, as well as 4 representatives of public bodies. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews between July 22 and August 1, 2012. The categories were divided into 4 groups to ensure the achievement of the proposed objectives: (1) strategic, (2) organization, (3) social, and (4) policy. In analyzing the results, we used content analysis and discourse, with the aid of Atlas Ti version 6. The results show that, when considering the strategic dimension, cooperation activities established are more focused on the operational level to the strategic, with the presence of coopetitive practices among companies. The organizational dimension shows that the council is still in the process of maturation with respect to the formation of networks of inter-organizational cooperation. The social dimension, inturn, shows that the relationships between the actors encourage the sharing of knowledge, information and experiences, but not equally. Finally, the political dimension shows that there is an adversarial relationship between government and business.

A problemática fundamental desta pesquisa está alicerçada na falta de um modelo conceitual de análise da aplicação da Gestão de Custos Interorganizacionais, visto que os autores pesquisados não propõem um modelo conceitual definido. Assim, o que se fez nesse trabalho foi, através de uma análise crítica e argumentativa, sistematizar o conhecimento sobre Gestão de Custos Interorganizacionais e comparar a aderência dos fatores condicionantes, reportados na literatura, com observações realizadas em duas cadeias de organizações distintas. Desse modo, o estudo desenvolveu um exercício cientifico formal, organizando e sistematizando uma estrutura teórica. Tendo como elemento metodológico predominante o estudo de caso, realizou-se uma análise em duas cadeias de organizações que estão no setor de prestação de serviços corporativos. Para alcançar o objetivo proposto, utilizou-se de diversas fontes de dados e informações: levantamento bibliográfico, roteiro de entrevistas, observação direta e análise de relatórios. Como resultado verificou-se que os fatores condicionantes são cinco: produtos, componentes, níveis de relacionamento, tipos de cadeia e mecanismos. A pesquisa também relacionou esses fatores teóricos com as práticas das duas empresas alvo deste estudo. / The fundamental approach of this research lies on the lack of a conceptual model designed to analyze the application of the Interorganizational Cost Management as the authors researched fail to propose a defined conceptual model. As a consequence, this research, through argumentative and critical reviews, systematizes the knowledge of the Interorganizational Cost Management and checks the adherence to the conditioning factors, as reported in the literature, against the findings from two chains of distinct organizations. Accordingly, the study developed a formal scientific exercise by arranging and systemizing a theoretical framework. Based on case studies as the prevailing methodological element, a study was conducted on two chains of organizations operating in the segment of corporate service provision. So as to meet the proposed goal, several sources of data and information were used: bibliography survey, interview plan, direct observation and report review. As a result, five conditioning factors have been found out: products, components, relation levels, types of chains and mechanisms. The research has also related such theoretical factors to the procedures adopted by the two companies addressed herein.

Esse trabalho tem como objetivo principal avaliar o atual cenário de biotecnologia no Brasil em termos econômicos, políticos e institucionais e, com base nessas informações, avaliar as condições pré-existentes que favorecem a implantação de uma rede inter-organizacional de empresas de biotecnologia no Brasil. Para que fosse possível tal avaliação foi realizada uma revisão bibliográfica que trouxe informações sobre: a biotecnologia enquanto oportunidade de negócio; os cenários nacional e internacional de biotecnologia; as características das empresas de base tecnológica e de biotecnologia no Brasil; os principais conceitos de rede de cooperação; o atual ambiente e as políticas para inovação e estímulo ao desenvolvimento da biotecnologia no Brasil. Para validar o quadro conceitual realizou-se pesquisa de campo com o estudo da recente experiência da BRBiotec - Rede Brasileira de Empresas de Biotecnologia, que, nasce com o propósito de dinamizar as várias cadeias produtivas que utilizam a biotecnologia no Brasil. Adotou-se, para coleta de informações de campo, sistematização e interpretação dos dados metodologia quantitativa e qualitativa combinadas, na forma de questionário eletrônico. Os resultados obtidos apontam para a necessidade de institucionalização de uma rede como instrumento essencial para a consolidação da biotecnologia no Brasil, envolvendo, não somente organismos públicos, mas principalmente organizações empresariais. / This work has as main purpose the evaluation of the current biotechnology scenery in Brazil in economical, political and institutional terms and, based on those information, to evaluate the pre-existent conditions that favor the implantation of an inter-organizational net of biotechnology companies in Brazil. In order to make possible such evaluation it was accomplished a bibliographical review that brought information on: biotechnology as a business opportunity; the national and international biotechnology sceneries; the characteristics of the technological based companies and the biotechnology in Brazil; the main concepts of cooperation net; the current atmosphere and the politics for innovation and incentive to the development of the biotechnology in Brazil. To validate the conceptual picture a field research about the recent experience of BRBiotec - Brazilian Net of Companies of Biotechnology took place. This net was born with the purpose of impelling the several productive chains that use the biotechnology in Brazil. It was adopted, for collection of field information, systemization and interpretation of the data and quantitative and qualitative methodology combined as electronic questionnaire. The obtained results point to the need of institutionalization of a net as essential instrument for the consolidation of the biotechnology in Brazil, involving, not only public organization, but mainly business organizations.

Despite disaster managers’ best efforts, inter-organizational disaster management suffers from varying levels of success. One factor that is likely to account for these variations is team mutual understanding, also known as common ground. To validate the potential effect of common ground in disaster management, the thesis investigates common ground in several interviews with disaster managers and in an experimental study involving an inter-organizational disaster event scenario. Analysis of interviews revealed that disaster managers perceived gaps in understanding between responders, the importance of mutual understanding, and perceived common ground similarly to depictions in theory with a few exceptions. Analyses of the experimental study indicated that contextual factors of Team composition, Problem solving approach and Type of tasks differently impacted measures of performance and implicit coordination, and that implicit coordination partially mediated and supressed the relationship between contextual factors and decision quality. Findings suggest the variation in disaster managers’ performance can be ascribed to common ground, implicit coordination, and contextual factors. Moreover, results showed the satisfaction with outcome did not correlate with expert rated quality of decision; and that while satisfaction related to consensus and quality of the decision was linked to generating alternative ideas and debate. Collaboration proved to be more effective in public communication tasks, especially for homogenous team composition. The findings support initiatives for more cross-training and further lab and field experiments.

Cette thèse étudie les typologies des stratégies inter-organisationnelles que peuvent entretenir les firmes pour développer des innovations produits. Elle se donne pour objet de mesurer les implications de ces choix stratégiques sur l'innovation produit et sur la performance marché de ces innovations. D'un point de vue théorique, cette recherche se base à la fois (1) sur le cadre d'analyse des stratégies inter-organisationnelles, en mobilisant notamment les concepts de stratégie individuelle, de coopération avec des non-rivaux et de coopétition ainsi que (2) sur l'innovation produit, au regard des concepts d'innovation radicale et incrémentale. Le terrain de cette recherche est le secteur de l'édition de jeux vidéo. La méthodologie est mixte. Une étude exploratoire qualitative basée sur l'analyse de trente entretiens réalisés avec les principaux acteurs de l'industrie des jeux vidéo permet d'identifier les stratégies inter-organisationnelles déployées pour développer des innovations produits radicales et incrémentales, et d'en dresser une typologie. Une étude quantitative teste les liens entre les stratégies inter-organisationnelles identifiées et l'innovation produit (régressions logistiques binaires), et le lien entre ces stratégies et la performance marché de l'innovation produit (régressions linéaires multivariées et comparaison des moyennes estimées). Cette thèse met en évidence trois résultats principaux, (1) le premier résultat montre que la coopétition est la stratégie la plus viable pour l'innovation produit et la performance marché de l'innovation radicale et incrémentale ; (2) le second résultat montre que la coopétition horizontale est la stratégie la plus viable pour la performance marché de l'innovation produit radicale et incrémentale, en comparaison avec la coopétition verticale (3) tandis que la stratégie de coopétition simultanément horizontale et verticale va être la plus viable pour la performance marché de l'innovation produit radicale et incrémentale en comparaison avec la coopétition horizontale. Ainsi, cette thèse démontre que la performance marché de l'innovation produit varie en fonction de la stratégie adoptée, du partenaire privilégié et en fonction du type d'innovation produit (radicale ou incrémentale). La thèse met en lumière également que, bien que la coopétition soit considérée comme une stratégie à haut risque, ce risque est associé à un niveau de performance élevé. / This thesis examines the typologies of inter-organizational strategies that firms can adopt to develop product innovation. It also highlights the implications of these strategies on the product innovation and on the market performance of these innovations. From a theoretical point of view, this research is based on (1) the analysis framework for the inter-organizational strategies, emphasizing the concepts of individual strategy, cooperation with non-competitors and co-opetition, as well as on (2) the product innovation, in the view of radical and incremental innovation concepts. The field of this research is the video game sector. The methodology is mixed. A qualitative exploratory study, based on the analysis of thirty interviews conducted with key actors in the video game industry, allowed the identification of the inter-organizational strategies, used to develop radical and incremental products innovations and to develop a typology. A quantitative study tests the relationship between the inter-organizational strategies identified and product innovation (binary logistic regression), and the link between these strategies and the market performance of product innovation (multivariate linear regression and estimated means comparison).This thesis highlights three key findings : (1) the first result shows that coopetition is the most viable strategy for product innovation and for the market performance of radical and incremental product innovation; (2) the second result shows that the horizontal coopetition is the most viable strategy for the market performance of radical and incremental product innovation, compared with the vertical coopetition, (3) while the strategy of simultaneously horizontal and vertical coopetition will be the most viable for the market performance of radical and incremental product innovation, in comparison with the horizontal coopetition. Thus, this thesis shows that the market performance of product innovation varies with the strategy, the partner and the type of product innovation (radical or incremental). In addition, the thesis highlights that, although coopetition is considered a high-risk strategy, risk is associated with a high level of performance.

Sous la pression de l'environnement, les entreprises ont été peu à peu amenées à changer leurs modes d'organisation en confiant de plus en plus d'activités à des prestataires externes. L'externalisation de la logistique est une des tendances fortes de ce mouvement. Cependant, malgré leurs bénéfices prétendus, de nombreux projets d'externalisation de la logistique ne remplissent pas leurs promesses. La cause en revient à une mauvaise anticipation des risques. Bien que la littérature soit riche en modèles théoriques et en études empiriques traitant de la décision d'externalisation, de ses déterminants, de ses facteurs de succès et d'échec, les travaux qui portent sur l'étude et l'anticipation des risques restent relativement rares. Ce travail de recherche s'intéresse au rôle que pourrait jouer la gestion des risques pour favoriser la conduite d'un processus d'externalisation de la logistique. Il repose sur une recherche-intervention mise en oeuvre chez un équipementier aéronautique. Il aboutit à la Proposition d'un processus de gestion intégrée des risques de l'externalisation. Ce modèle met en évidence la nécessité de repenser la manière d'appréhender l'externalisation de la logistique. Il propose une démarche intégratrice permettant de modéliser les différentes phases d'un processus d'externalisation de la logistique en adoptant de nouveaux modes de conception et de reconfiguration qui y intègrent la maîtrise des risques. Ce modèle offre une vision suffisamment globale aux praticiens qui doivent faire face au quotidien à des projets d'externalisation de plus en plus complexes. / Under pressure from the environment, firms were gradually brought to change their modes of organization by entrusting more and more activities to external service providers. The outsourcing of logistics is one of the strong trends of this movement. However, despite their supposed benefits, many logistics outsourcing projects fail to fulfil their promises. The cause goes back to weak risk anticipation. Although the literature is rich in theoretical models and empirical studies dealing with the decision of outsourcing, its determinants, its factors of success and failure, works which focus on the study and anticipating risks remain relatively rare. This research focuses on the potential role of risk management to support the conduct of a process of outsourcing of logistics. It is based on a research-intervention implemented in an aeronautical equipment manufacturer. It leads to the proposal of a model of integrated risk management outsourcing. This model highlights the need to rethink how to approach outsourcing logistics. It offers an inclusive approach to model the different phases of a process of logistics outsourcing by adopting new modes of design and reconfiguration which include the control of risks. This model offers a global vision to managers who face outsourcing projects becoming increasingly complex.