The need for faster, more flexible and less risky ways for organisations to expand their capabilities and competencies increasingly lead to the formation and proliferation of networking strategies and partners. Understanding the potential contribution that CoP membership can provide within these teams is a step towards developing and refining a strategy to support and enhance the speedy progression of the team towards a productive phase. The study shows that membership of researchers to the same or similar CoPs have some impact on the norming stage, and assist in reaching the performing / productive stage faster in team development. The survey in particular has indicated that similar standards, practices, terminology, ethics, standards, peer recognition, trust and a sense of belonging have more of an impact on the productive phase of team forming, than on the norming phase. The hard factors such as terminology, standards and similar practices have a strong correlation with the softer factors such as a sense of belonging and trust. This information should be utilised in both the socialisation processes in academic institutions as part of the education of professionals, as well as organisational approaches to Research and Development (R&D), information sharing and development of the researchers. The paper also highlights emerging organisational and strategic Best Practices currently prevalent in R&D teams and collaborative projects. It is clear that research collaborations cuts across the whole spectrum of business and management areas - from strategy, across intellectual property issues, finance, strategic human resource management, R&D management and innovation, knowledge management, organisational values and culture, and many more. To support innovation and R&D on a strategic level, both internally and on inter-firm collaborations, requires a review of the total organisational strategy, culture and norms in an organisation. Innovation and R&D support should be a holistic approach, with strategic and pro-active risk management supported by appropriate strategic human resources management and systems. Literature on CoPs, teams, social capital (SC), knowledge management (KM), intellectual capital (IC), intellectual property (IP), strategy and governance provide theoretical grounding. / Business Leadership / Ph. D.

This study examined how online social networking (OSN) leads to increased communication and collaboration across inter-firm boundaries. This online social networking behaviour represents significant opportunities to firms in the form of improved problem-solving, increased collaborative innovation and enhanced engagement with stakeholders. There are also risks inherent in the widespread use of OSNs, such as the loss of control over information flows to individuals outside the organization, potential damage to the reputation of brands and organizations, and loss of productivity due to excessive usage of OSNs during work hours. In particular, this study sought to test four research propositions, specifically, that usage of one particular OSN, LinkedIn (LI), results in: 1) an increased number of inter-firm connections; 2) an improved ability to communicate across inter-firm boundaries; 3) greater access to problem solving or innovation collaborators; 4) increased organizational problem solving or innovation ability. The study methodology involved both quantitative and qualitative research. The quantitative portion of the study involved survey research among over 500 LinkedIn (LI) users to determine changes they reported in various dimensions related to inter-firm relationship-forming, information-sharing and collaborative problem solving since using LI. The sampling approach was purposive and the sample frame consisted of the researcher’s own extended LI network, and an effort was also made to make the survey link available to all LI members through public posting in the site’s Q&A section. Though no individual or group was systematically excluded from the opportunity to take the survey, some limitations are inherent in the approach taken. The survey respondents were self-selecting, which makes it difficult to confirm that the sample is reflective of all LI users. Also, the use of the researcher’s own LI network as a key source of survey respondents may have biased the study toward more open networkers, since the researcher’s network was built up over time by practicing open networking behaviours. As a result, the sample may tend to under-represent more closed or restrictive networkers. Notwithstanding these limitations, no one particular group of respondents was excluded from the opportunity to take the survey, and the resulting data suggests that there were significant numbers of respondents who considered themselves closed networkers. Also, the spread of respondents by geographic area, occupation and age was found to resemble published statistics from LI on its user base, so it appears that the data is reasonably reflective of the LI user base, though this would be difficult to verify or measure. Qualitative research was also undertaken among senior managers at companies that have embraced the use of OSNs by staff to determine their experiences along similar dimensions. The findings from the quantitative survey showed that users of LI have experienced an increased number of social connections with individuals as a result of using LI, and that these connections are often with people in other organizations, including competitors and customers. Survey respondents also reported that they have been able to draw upon their LI networks in order to solve problems and be more innovative in their work. Analysis of the qualitative research yielded a list of suggested best practices that could be adopted by firms wishing to harness the collaborative power of OSNs. These suggested best practices have been grouped under the areas of strategy, listening, communication, guidelines, training, diffusion and measurement. Some suggested areas for future research included: the role of performance measurement and reward systems in managing OSN usage behaviour; the organizational risks of centralized versus decentralized control of messaging via OSNs; the role of training in the effective deployment of OSNs in an organizational context; and the organizational risk of increased connectedness with competitors resulting from OSN relationships. / Business Management / D.B.L.

Cette recherche a eu pour but principal de montrer, à travers l’exemple de l’industrie informatique dans les années 90, que la stratégie de partenariat est aujourd’hui devenue un outil essentiel pour permettre aux entreprises à la tête d’une industrie à forte innovation technologique, confrontée à des changements structurels importants, et en particulier à la désintégration menant au leadership technologique partagé, de maintenir leur position dominante. <p> <p>Les quatre parties du travail constituent une suite logique d’étapes contribuant chacune à valider la thèse: la partie I porte sur la synthèse des principaux courants de la littérature scientifique sur les accords de collaboration et leur relation avec l’évolution des industries. Le but poursuivi dans la partie II est de décrire les changements intervenus dans l’industrie informatique au cours des années 90 et de formuler l’hypothèse d’une relation entre ces changements et la stratégie des firmes dans le domaine des accords de collaboration. Cette hypothèse est vérifiée empiriquement dans les parties III et IV à l’aide d’une banque de données sur les accords de collaboration. La partie III du travail présente les résultats descriptifs et la partie IV les résultats analytiques permettant de valider l’hypothèse.<p> / Doctorat en sciences de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In 2008, grassroots NGOs formed 13 alliances in response to the need for emergency relief and post-disaster recovery after the Sichuan Earthquake that occurred in West China and killed approximately 87,000 people. These alliances served to raise and deliver relief materials, train and supervise volunteers, promote information sharing, and assist victims with mental health and livelihood recovery. However, all alliances were terminated within less than four years. Although plenty of scholarship discusses how corporate alliances evolve or fail, few studies focus on interorganizational collaboration among nonprofits. To explore how NGOs developed collective actions in China’s adverse sociopolitical environment, the author performed three years of observation in four coalitions and interviewed 60 alliance leaders, employees, and volunteers. This paper identifies four types of termination these NGO alliances experienced: three of them failed at their very births, five self-disbanded shortly after the end of emergency aid, three dissolved due to failed institutionalization, and the remaining two evolved into independent organizations. Tracking their life cycles, this study finds four main factors accountable for their terminations: political pressure, funding shortage, short-term orientation, and leadership failure. In particular, the repressive NGO regulation regime and limited funding sources fundamentally restricted all alliances’ capacity and sustainability. Further, the transient nature of disaster relief efforts and the conflict between disaster management and planned work areas contributed to the short-term orientation among alliance members and, thus, led to the closure of some alliances shortly after they provided emergency relief. In addition, though generally exempt from internal rivalry that often undermines inter-firm partnerships, NGO alliances of all types were confronted with leadership challenges—partner misfits concerning resources, strategy, and mission; flawed governing structures, and undesired individual leadership. The four factors interplayed and led to alliance dissolution through different combinations. The paper points out that, in addition to environmental uncertainty, leadership failure has become a major challenge for nonprofit collaborations.