<p>Background: Inter-organisational ways of working have become more and more common during the last decades. In order to attain efficiency and productivity, such inter-organisational relationships need to be governed and controlled. However, studies have shown that inadequate control is one of the main reasons for why inter-organisational relationships fail. One of the means that can be used for governing and controlling a business is management control. The use of management control in inter-organisational contexts is a quite unexplored area of research at the present time, which might seem somewhat surprising considering the fact that inadequate control is a common explanation for why inter-organisational relationships fail. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to describe management control in horizontal inter-organisational relationships, as well as to analyse the design of inter-organisational management control systems, using relation specific characteristics as a starting point. </p><p>Delimitation: The possible influence that trust might have on inter- organisational management control will not be discussed in this thesis. </p><p>Realisation: A case study of a network consisting of three companies that jointly develop a fuel cell air supply system for vehicle applications. The empirical data was gathered through visits at each of the three companies, including an interview with each company’s general manager. </p><p>Conclusions: The character of inter-organisational relationships can change over time, which might make it necessary to change inter-organisational management control systems. Some aspects that should be kept in mind when designing an inter-organisational management control system are: the match between the relationship and the control system, the openness within the relationship, the balance between control and commitment, as well as the trade- off between the costs and the benefits of a certain system. The possible effect that external factors might have on inter-organisational management control is yet another aspect that should be considered.</p>

Shared Services (SS) involves the convergence and streamlining of an organisation’s functions to ensure timely service delivery as effectively and efficiently as possible. As a management structure designed to promote value generation, cost savings and improved service delivery by leveraging on economies of scale, the idea of SS is driven by cost reduction and improvements in quality levels of service and efficiency. Current conventional wisdom is that the potential for SS is increasing due to the increasing costs of changing systems and business requirements for organisations and in implementing and running information systems. In addition, due to commoditisation of large information systems such as enterprise systems, many common, supporting functions across organisations are becoming more similar than not, leading to an increasing overlap in processes and fuelling the notion that it is possible for organisations to derive benefits from collaborating and sharing their common services through an inter-organisational shared services (IOSS) arrangement. While there is some research on traditional SS, very little research has been done on IOSS. In particular, it is unclear what are the potential drivers and inhibitors of IOSS. As the concepts of IOSS and SS are closely related to that of Outsourcing, and their distinction is sometimes blurred, this research has the first objective of seeking a clear conceptual understanding of the differences between SS and Outsourcing (in motivators, arrangements, benefits, disadvantages, etc) and based on this conceptual understanding, the second objective of this research is to develop a decision model (Shared Services Potential model) which would aid organisations in deciding which arrangement would be more appropriate for them to adopt in pursuit of process improvements for their operations. As the context of the study is on universities in higher education sharing administrative services common to or across them and with the assumption that such services were homogenous in nature, this thesis also reports on a case study. The case study involved face to face interviews from representatives of an Australian university to explore the potential for IOSS. Our key findings suggest that it is possible for universities to share services common across them as most of them were currently using the same systems although independently.

Individual businesses from a variety of sectors network and work together to create a successful tourist experience. The interdependencies of organisations producing this experience make cooperation a necessity in destination marketing. Despite the centrality of cooperation and networking in tourism marketing relatively little empirical research has been conducted in this area. This thesis uses the case of the development of the official NZ website www.purenz.com (purenz) to examine the role, form and process of inter-organisational cooperation in destination marketing. Drawing on in-depth interviews with thirty- five industry members involved in establishing and managing www.purenz.com between 1999 and 2006 this thesis makes a number of contributions to both the marketing and tourism literature. The thesis confirms that there are considerable difficulties in broadening the marketing role of the national tourism organisation (NTO) beyond destination promotion. The study also finds that destination marketing and destination management are still perceived as separate processes in the NZ tourism industry. In addition, the results of this study provide support for the view that the social networks in which firms are embedded have a considerable influence on inter-organisational alliance formation. This thesis contributes to the development of theoretical approaches to the study of cooperation in destination marketing by identifying five levels of cooperation in destination marketing: passive acceptance, support, alignment, contribution and pooling. The levels are based on the different types of input that may be required from stakeholders by the NTO. The level of cooperation desired in a particular context is a strategic choice to be made by the destination marketing management. This choice is affected by the existing characteristics of the tourism network; the NTO leaders’ perception of the need for and value of cooperation in destination marketing and also by the extent of shared understanding of the scope of destination marketing management among tourism stakeholders. The research points to the need to develop further the network characteristics affecting cooperation in destination marketing. Further work is also needed to develop a more complete profile of the five levels of cooperation identified by this study and the investment required to achieve each level of cooperation.

Background: Information technology (IT) has drastically changed the traditional way to do business. In theory, coordinating information sharing among organisational partners offers notable advantages through cost savings, productivity, improved decision making, and better customer service. Supported by modern information technology, business processes can change and be developed into new more effective forms, both internally and externally. However, as IT facilitates new business opportunities, it requires a steady flow of information and information exchange, both within intra- and inter-organisational contexts where a consensus on terms and definitions coordinating the uniform communication is vital. Purpose: With the focal point on inter-organisational information exchange, the purpose of the thesis is to define a set of guidelines for AI that can be used and adjusted according to the needs of a specific situation or context. Method: The thesis was carried out with a Multi Grounded Theory approach. Interviews were conducted at a local IT-company and with an associate professor of Informatics at Jönköping International Business School. Results: Five categories were discovered which impact AI: integration governance, project management, context, integration content, and testing. The result also implied the importance to distinguish between an operational and strategic level when working with Application Integration.

Background: Information technology (IT) has drastically changed the traditional way to do business. In theory, coordinating information sharing among organisational partners offers notable advantages through cost savings, productivity, improved decision making, and better customer service. Supported by modern information technology, business processes can change and be developed into new more effective forms, both internally and externally. However, as IT facilitates new business opportunities, it requires a steady flow of information and information exchange, both within intra- and inter-organisational contexts where a consensus on terms and definitions coordinating the uniform communication is vital. Purpose: With the focal point on inter-organisational information exchange, the purpose of the thesis is to define a set of guidelines for AI that can be used and adjusted according to the needs of a specific situation or context. Method: The thesis was carried out with a Multi Grounded Theory approach. Interviews were conducted at a local IT-company and with an associate professor of Informatics at Jönköping International Business School. Results: Five categories were discovered which impact AI: integration governance, project management, context, integration content, and testing. The result also implied the importance to distinguish between an operational and strategic level when working with Application Integration.

Abstract A trivial information system consists of three components: a user, a container for the information and a tool to manage the information. The focus of this research is more complicated with several users and organisations, with several databases in those organisations and with an inter-organisational information system. In inter-organisational information systems information flows across boundaries and the boundaries as well as information itself must be carefully taken into account. This research takes seriously the users who represent different professions and who were more or less involved in the information system implementations. In a distributed project, also the container is under special attention. That is discussed in the dissertation, as well. The approach in the research is mainly interpretative and subjective. The empirical material comes from several cases but three of them acted as a background for the main case that was conducted in an academic environment. The case appeared to be versatile due to its many stakeholders and it offered several topics to be explored. The goal of the research was introduced in a meeting to the attendees: "The aim of the thesis is to describe how a joint information system of different universities was finally implemented or why it wasn't." This introduction predicted challenges that were to be overcome during the subsequent years. In addition to the versatile case, also the information system implementation offered fruitful viewpoints for the research. Inter-organisational information system projects are described in literature to some extent. This case contributes the research with the many organisations and users that were involved in the development project. Furthermore, the information system was planned to be built on ready-made specifications and it increased the challenges to succeed. This led to the lesson that a new model to be used in information system developments is needed because existing models do not support this kind of development process. The research supports the concept that action research and design science complement each other especially in development projects when the output is an information system that has been implemented in collaboration with several users and stakeholders. The results of this thesis emphasise the need to manage potential competition between participating organisations, lack of interaction between parties and security and user authentication. Proper project management is needed with active and confidential terms between all project members. In addition, flexible working routines are found workable.

Audit, inspection and quality assurance are aspects of a broader but rapidly evolving "performance measurement"; which is part of the performance management (PM) in public administration. The effectiveness of PM and its public reporting are not established in all contexts and applications. In some contexts, PM public reporting is used along with other measures such as inter-organisational networks to reform public service provision. In such contexts, how PM reporting help stakeholders in a network? There have been different conceptual frameworks and models explored in the literature that aim to explain how networked governance works. None of the available models, however, addresses the impact of an outside performance measurement tools. The review of literature, on the perspective of inter-organisational network, shows a need to explore more deeply what is going on within the network, and how the network interacts with its boundaries and outside context. Therefore, the overall objective for this research is to propose a conceptual model that can explain the impact of externally reported PM, an example of which is independent mandatory quality assurance (QA), on inter-organisational networks dynamics and outcomes. The research starts by building an ‘initial theoretical conceptual’ model based on theoretically derived influences of PM on the dynamics and outcomes of a network. The research uses qualitative case study strategy, using data from four cases, all linked with national education and training reform initiatives in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Participants representing the four cases were interviewed using semi-structured interview protocol. Data collected were analysed through two-order thematic analyses, and the results were used to revise the initial model and develop a novel conceptual model for this purpose. The results of the analyses contribute to existing theories by proposing four themes, covered by four propositions, in which QA public reporting impacts the network dynamics – namely on accountability, engagement and trust, power and control; and collaborations and cooperation. The impact on the network dynamics may lead to the achievement of some collaborative advantages, after going through the resistance of some collaborative inertias that may exist in the system and context in which network operates. In summary, QA reporting, in the case of this research, is an external variable to the network setting which activates members and offers a medium of change around members, within a network as well as outside it. The researcher introduces the term ‘network catalyst’ to describe the role of QA reporting in this context.

This study investigates the dynamics of inter-organisational collaboration and their role in demand stimulation in the performing arts. While the literature suggested methods and outcomes of collaboration and its role in demand stimulation, recent media reports indicated very few South African Performing Arts Organisations (PAOs) were involved in any form of collaboration. Therefore before the theories on could be tested the reasons behind the limited collaboration in South Africa had to be investigated.An exploratory investigation was conducted in two phases. The first phase focused on collecting the opinions on all aspects of collaboration from strategic decision makers in PAOs to form a set of guidelines for collaboration. In phase two these guidelines were validated by the same strategic makers through a self-administered questionnaire.From the results emerged a set of barriers to and enablers of collaboration. In addition, several contextual factors emerged that greatly impact collaboration and its effectiveness as a marketing tool. The political history of South Africa in particular has created a divide, not only in the performing arts industry but in the audience as well, that makes collaboration extremely difficult. PAOs need to be able to use collaboration to mobilise support from other economic sectors in order to bridge this divide. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Together with the EU2020 goals, set in order to increase sustainability, there is an oncoming storm of electrification. The need of Batteries is growing, but Europe is lacking both production and competence in the area. Unrestricted new establishments, so-called “greenfield” ventures are a growing trend, which are often placed in rural areas where recruitment can be difficult. What follows is the necessary collaboration between the greenfield venture itself and local as well as national government to consolidate enough power and competence so that the parties can complete the task at hand. Collaborating between such different organisations are bound to spark conflict and shed light on organisational differences all the while exploring the benefits of the collaborative venture itself. The aim of this research is to investigate which challenges and opportunities arise during the initial phase of an inter-organisational collaboration for a large-scale recruitment effort. Where the main questions to answer were; What challenges can be identified throughout the collaboration? And, what opportunities arise during this collaboration? In order to investigate this, the case of Northvolt-Västerbotten was selected which is the collaborative project that has been established between the Region Västerbotten (RV, regional government of Västerbotten), Skellefteå Municipality, local employment service and Northvolt. This collaboration was studied through continuous observations of 16 project participants, close day-to-day work with the project manager as well as two rounds of interviews with 5 participants. All of which performed through the eyes of a participating researcher. The research concludes, that entering an inter-organisational collaboration means that resources and knowledge from each actor can be shared. When this collaboration takes part between organisations in the public and private sector it can be of further advantage. Differences, while sometimes hard to manage, can if done so successfully be avoided and turned into opportunities. If you manage to combine private and public actors to create a team with clear communication, established trust and aligned goals you can instead utilise the differences and by doing so save money, time and resources. / Tillsammans med EU’s 2020-mål, satta för att öka focus på hållbarhet, finner vi en ankommande storm utav elektrifiering. Behovet av batterier ökar, men Europa saknar både kompetensen och produktionen utav dem. Obehindrade nyetableringar, eller “greenfield”-satsingar är en ökande trend, dessa är ofta placerade i icke-urbana områden där rekrytering kan vara svår. Vad som följer är det nödvändiga samarbetet mellan nyetableringen och lokala så väl som nationella myndigheter för att samla tillräcklig makt och kompetens för att kunna utföra uppgiften. Samarbete mellan sådana olika organisationer kommer allra troligast att föda konflikter och belysa organisationella skillnader allt samtidigt som de utforskar fördelarna med samarbetet. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilka utmaning och möjligheter som uppstår i uppstartsfasen utav ett inter-organisationellt samarbete för en storskalig rekrytering. Varvid huvudfrågorna att besvara var: • Vilka utmaningar kan identifieras? • Vilka möjligheter uppstår? För att undersöka detta valdes fallet Northvolt-Region Västerbotten ut. Detta är ett samarbetsprojekt som har etablerats mellan Region Västerbotten, Skellefteå kommun, Arbetsförmedlingen och Northvolt. Detta samarbete har studerats genom kontinuerliga observationer utav de 16 deltagande personer, dagligt arbete med projektledaren så väl som två rundor utav intervjuer med 5 deltagare i projektet. Allt genomfört som deltagande forskare. Vi drar slutsatserna att ett inter-organisationellt samarbete innebär att alla medverkande organisationers interna resurser och kunskaper kan utnyttjas gemensamt. När ett sådant samarbete äger rum mellan privata och statligt ägda organisationer kan dessa fördelar bli av extra värde. Skillnader mellan organisationerna, som ibland kan vara svåra att hantera, kan om de hanteras korrekt istället bli till fördelar. Om man kan lyckas att kombinera privata och offentliga organisationer för att skapa ett team med en tydlig kommunikation, etablerat tillförlitlighet och sammanstrålade mål kan man istället utnyttja skillnaderna och på så sätt spara pengar, tid och resurser.

Motivation In the upcoming decades, traditional firms will transition to becoming a more regenerative version, with a socio-ecological purpose at the core of the firm. In this transition phase, regenerative firms, with a focus on impact maximisation of the socio-ecological purpose and traditional firms, with a focus rather on profit maximisation, need to coexist and be resilient somehow. While in the coming decades the number of regenerative firms will grow, it is important to understand how these regenerative firms can enable organisational resilience. Yet, prior research neglects how especially inter-organisational collaboration could enhance the organisational resilience of regenerative firms. Therefore, the context of this study is within the consumer goods industry in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, focusing on regenerative firms. Purpose This study aims to shed light on how inter-organisational collaboration can strengthen the organisational resilience of regenerative firms. The first part of the research will mostly address the question how regenerative firms can strengthen organisational resilience with a focus on the capabilities needed. In addition, the study will demonstrate how regenerative firms approach and use inter-organisational collaboration. Methodology The study, with a qualitative approach, used a multi-case study design. Various people were interviewed, such as CEOs, founders, quality managers, consultants, impact officers, following a semi-structured interview design. For transcription purposes, the interviews were audio-recorded and the results from the interviews were labelled, following an open coding process. The results, with matching open codes, were then connected back to the theoretical framework. Results The results of this study indicated how inter-organisational collaboration is used to strengthen the organisational resilience of regenerative firms. Contradicting prior research about traditional firms, regenerative firms do not fear competition, yet these firms rather achieve system resilience by being resilient as a collective. Regenerative firms realise this by being transparent, absorbing and sharing knowledge to achieve success for the system they are embedded in. Sharing knowledge in a transparent manner and aiming for reciprocity among inter-organisational collaboration actors contributes positively to their system resilience. Thus, inter-organisational collaboration is a powerful tool for regenerative firms to enhance this system resilience and consequently maximising the impact of their collective socio-ecological purpose.