Background: Performance measurement as a management control tool has received considerable academic attention. As the number of inter-organisational relationships, such as customer-supplier relationships, increases, there is a new scope for performance measurement as a management control tool. In order for a company to assess the effectiveness of its supplier relationships it has to define, measure and evaluate variables that are critical for the success of the relationship. The role of management control, and thereby of performance measurement, has increasingly been discussed in theory. However, empirical research in this area is still somewhat limited. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to analyse how performance measurement in inter-organisational relationships should be designed in order to be effective. Results: Theory which is applicable on performance measurement as a control tool in general also appears to be applicable on performance measurement as a control tool in inter-organisational relationships. Exactly which requirements performance measurement should meet, in order to be effective, is difficult to establish since they often imply a trade-off between different factors. In order to be effective, performance measurement partly needs to be adjusted to the situation, which adds yet a dimension to, and difficulty of, performance measurement in inter-organisational relationships.

<p>Background: Performance measurement as a management control tool has received considerable academic attention. As the number of inter-organisational relationships, such as customer-supplier relationships, increases, there is a new scope for performance measurement as a management control tool. In order for a company to assess the effectiveness of its supplier relationships it has to define, measure and evaluate variables that are critical for the success of the relationship. The role of management control, and thereby of performance measurement, has increasingly been discussed in theory. However, empirical research in this area is still somewhat limited. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to analyse how performance measurement in inter-organisational relationships should be designed in order to be effective. </p><p>Results: Theory which is applicable on performance measurement as a control tool in general also appears to be applicable on performance measurement as a control tool in inter-organisational relationships. Exactly which requirements performance measurement should meet, in order to be effective, is difficult to establish since they often imply a trade-off between different factors. In order to be effective, performance measurement partly needs to be adjusted to the situation, which adds yet a dimension to, and difficulty of, performance measurement in inter-organisational relationships.</p>

M-Tech (Department of Logistics Management, Faculty of Management Sciences) Vaal University of Technology / One of the most significant changes in the paradigm of modern business management is that individual businesses no longer compete as solely autonomous entities, but rather as supply chains. In this emerging competitive environment, the ultimate success of the business will depend on management’s ability to integrate the company’s intricate network of business relationships. Effective supply chain management (SCM) has become a potentially valuable way of securing competitive advantage and improving organisational performance since competition is no longer between organisations, but among supply chains, which can be obtained through the sharing of appropriate information between supply chain partners and forming healthy inter-organisational relationships. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of supply chain dynamism, information sharing and inter-organisational relationships on supply chain performance in manufacturing, service and mining in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Data for the study were collected from 350 prominent organisations and the relationships proposed in the framework were tested using different statistical techniques. The results indicate that supply chain dynamism have a positive influence on both information sharing and inter-organisational relationships. They also indicate that higher levels of information sharing can lead to enhanced competitive advantage and improved supply chain performance, which further indicate that the more organisations have healthy inter-organisational relationships, the better the supply chain performance becomes. These results have value to both the academic and business worlds as they provide verification of the widely held belief of the value of effective supply chain management and performance.

Organisations today operate in a complex, unpredictable, globalised, and competitive business environment and challenging marketplace, emphasis on just-in-time deliveries and service quality through the integration of resources. In response to the changing business dynamics, web-based EDI (WEDI) has been adopted by the global container shipping industry to cost-effectively utilise available resources to build and remain its competitive advantage. To improve the current understanding of WEDI adoption factors, this research explores inter-organisational collaboration of WEDI adoption, focusing on the organisational adoption stage and examine how business level social and relational factors influence WEDI adoption in the context of the container liner shipping industry. Based on theoretical and literature reviews on previous EDI adoption, in particular to three key inter-organisational system adoption empirical research (including Lee and Lim, 2005; Boonstra and de Vries, 2005; Zhu et al., 2006), an integrated research model was established of which features ‘Social Resources' of (trading partner power, trading partner dependence and social network effect), ‘Relational Resources' of (trading partner trust, top management commitment and guanxi, ‘Reward' of (perceived interests), and ‘Technological State' of (technological trust and e-readiness) as prominent antecedents. Through E-mail and Web Survey approach, we examine the nine independent constructs in the research model quantitatively on a dataset of 164 respondents from the top 20 leading container shipping liner in year 2009 and 195 respondents of the top 20 leading container shipping liner in 2012 by 3 case studies through online surveys. After examining its reliability, validity and correlation of the constructs, PLS structural Equation Modelling was applied to test hypotheses. The empirical results update how firms exchange business dada, in particular to the use of WEDI in the industry. This study demonstrated that ‘Social Resources' of trading partner power, trust and guanxi, positively associated with the perceived interest of WEDI adoption. Relational Resources' of trading partner trust, top management commitment and guanxi positively associated with the perceived interest of WEDI adoption. It also confirms the nine constructs to be positively association the WEDI adoption decisions. Drawing upon social exchange theory, we argue that firms simultaneously modify and adjust their social and relational resources to affect other firms' expected benefit as a reward. Overall, based on a rigorous empirical analysis of two different international dataset, this research provides valuable and the most updated insights into a set of key factors that influence WEDI adoption. By recognising what may influence WEDI adoption in the context of the container liner shipping, this study will be useful in suggesting strategies to overcome the constraints that inhibit adoption. Researchers will benefit from the study's theoretical insights and explore further WEDI adoption and diffusion patterns. Practitioners who learn why organisations adopt WEDI and what the related factors are that influence the adoption process will make better strategic decisions concerning the adoption of WEDI.

De posture épistémologique constructiviste pragmatique, et s’appuyant sur une méthodologie qualitative, cette recherche de type abductif porte sur le contrôle dans la gestion des interfaces inter-organisationnelles au sein du secteur aéronautique civil. A partir d’une observation participante et d’études de cas, il s’agit de soutenir que la réussite des relations inter-organisationnelles dans ce secteur passe par une stratégie et des outils de contrôle reposant sur la prise en compte de leviers critiques établis à partir de la littérature et du terrain, l’orchestration d’une architecture organisationnelle dynamique du contrôle et des mécanismes qui facilitent l’interpénétration des acteurs et le traitement efficace des dimensions informelles et subjectives propres aux relations inter-organisationnelles. En ce sens, l’étude présente les grandes lignes théoriques d’un mode de gouvernance inter-organisationnelle qui favorise cette interpénétration ainsi que des outils de contrôle à considérer, en particulier à l’égard des directions générales. / Parting from a pragmatic constructivist epistemological paradigm, and based on a qualitative methodology, this abductive research explores the strategic management control of inter-organisational relationships (IORs) in civil aerospace. Based on both participating observation and specific case studies, this research aims at demonstrating that the success of inter-organisational relationships in civil aerospace lies in control tools and strategies based on key levers, which we identified thanks to an extensive analysis of existing literature and on-field observations; the orchestration of a dynamic organisational architecture for the control devices and mechanisms, which fosters a sound interpenetration of all actors involved; and the efficient treatment of the informal and subjective dimensions, inherent to inter-organisational relationships. In that sense then, the proposed research offers the theoretical foundations of an inter-organisational mode of governance which fosters said interpenetration and defines the control tools and mechanisms which should be considered for such agreements, by general management in particular.