Collaborating in engineering design is taking place increasingly across technical disciplines, departments and organisations. When collaborating, participants confront issues about how to share understanding and foster aligned project expectations. A review of literature suggests there is limited research about the process of collaborating in engineering design and how collaborating is influenced by context. Collaborating is distinguished as a relational concept (involving at least two parties) that is a social process occurring in both pairs and a group. Studies currently focus on group effectiveness, one or two processes (e.g. communication), and either a group (e.g. a collaboration) or pairwise relations (e.g. inter-organisational relationships). A framework of relevant concepts was adopted from literature on collaboration practice to organise empirical data. Collaborating in engineering design is explored in sixty semi-structured interviews focusing on participants’ interaction and shared understanding (as pairs and groups) in their activities. This is complemented by observations of group meetings and project documentation. Empirical data is presented from four industry-based case studies classified by design type (adaptive or original) and design setting (intra or inter-organisational). Cross-case comparisons draw attention to an increase in ambiguity and uncertainty in combining tasks, roles, expertise and participants in original design type or inter-organisational cases. Findings from cross-case analysis highlight seven new conceptual categories. Four features (Opportunity, Dependence, Results, Adjustments) are used to present a dilemma that participants face which is more acute where organisational and knowledge boundaries are crossed. Three mechanisms (Familiarising, Associating, Regulating) describe how pairwise relations influence a group and individuals in collaborating. These show that through pairwise relations individuals recognise, establish and maintain expectations of how to collaborate in engineering design. This reveals that pairwise relations both help and hinder individuals and a group in how they adjust to foster aligned expectations of collaborating.

<p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p><p>Title:</p><p>The Effect of Social Relationships on Company Internationalization</p><p>Course:</p><p>Master’s level Thesis (EFO705) in International Business and Entrepreneurship 10 Swedish credit points  (15 ECTS)</p><p>Authors:</p><p>Hanney Al-Qaisi & Bhupesh Reddy Kurre</p><p>Tutor:</p><p>Leif Linnskog</p><p>Problem:</p><p>How did social relationships affect the internationalization of a German IVF centre to the UAE? Using this case example, the thesis will be focused on studying the different social factors that could have affected the internationalization process.</p><p>Purpose:</p><p>The aim of this thesis was to describe the way that a local company in Germany went through internationalization to become a successfulmultinational company. We wanted to find out if there were any social factors that influenced the company. In particular, we wanted to investigate whether there were any entrepreneurial activities or barriers that influenced the company’s internationalisation and why it chose to open its subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is far from Germany.</p><p>Methods:</p><p>This thesis is based on a qualitative methodology for gathering and analysis of the data around the internationalization of the German company.Qualitative methods are the best techniques for looking into social relationships and whether they have an effect on the internationalization process.</p><p>Theories:</p><p>Uppsala-Model; Network Theory; Social, Business & Professional Relationships and International Entrepreneurship</p><p>Target Group:</p><p>This research provides knowledge and information to entrepreneurs businessowners, managers, general readers, and academics who would like to understand the influence of social relationships on internationalization. </p><p><p>Conclusion:</p><p>Having searched through the published literature for relevant articles on the internationalization process, social relationships and entrepreneurial activities, we were able to inform our thesis with a theoretical framework for analyzing social relationships and internationalization. Social relationships do indeed have an influence on the internationalization process, and using our case example, it was possible to outline the patterns and nature of the influence. The theories (and patterns) are interlinked, and could be related in practical terms to the establishment of a satellite fertility centre in the UAE by a German head company.</p></p>

ABSTRACT Title: The Effect of Social Relationships on Company Internationalization Course: Master’s level Thesis (EFO705) in International Business and Entrepreneurship 10 Swedish credit points  (15 ECTS) Authors: Hanney Al-Qaisi &amp; Bhupesh Reddy Kurre Tutor: Leif Linnskog Problem: How did social relationships affect the internationalization of a German IVF centre to the UAE? Using this case example, the thesis will be focused on studying the different social factors that could have affected the internationalization process. Purpose: The aim of this thesis was to describe the way that a local company in Germany went through internationalization to become a successfulmultinational company. We wanted to find out if there were any social factors that influenced the company. In particular, we wanted to investigate whether there were any entrepreneurial activities or barriers that influenced the company’s internationalisation and why it chose to open its subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is far from Germany. Methods: This thesis is based on a qualitative methodology for gathering and analysis of the data around the internationalization of the German company.Qualitative methods are the best techniques for looking into social relationships and whether they have an effect on the internationalization process. Theories: Uppsala-Model; Network Theory; Social, Business &amp; Professional Relationships and International Entrepreneurship Target Group: This research provides knowledge and information to entrepreneurs businessowners, managers, general readers, and academics who would like to understand the influence of social relationships on internationalization.  Conclusion: Having searched through the published literature for relevant articles on the internationalization process, social relationships and entrepreneurial activities, we were able to inform our thesis with a theoretical framework for analyzing social relationships and internationalization. Social relationships do indeed have an influence on the internationalization process, and using our case example, it was possible to outline the patterns and nature of the influence. The theories (and patterns) are interlinked, and could be related in practical terms to the establishment of a satellite fertility centre in the UAE by a German head company.

Recently, with the relocation of major international trades fromEuro-America to Asia, all Asia-Pacific countries have been building moreand more harbors to compete for trade opportunities. Among them, Chinais an outstanding case. In this wave of harbor booming, the number ofcontainers in Kaohsiung grows stagnantly. As a neighboring country to those developing area, we should feel threatened. There are various keys to the successful management of harbor. Efficiency of operation is the major concern of most shipping companies. Aside from facilities and equipments, efficiency of ports operation must also depend on management. In this thesis, I propose that the electronification of operation procedures and information exchange is the key to efficient management and the building of a new business model. In this paper, I use Kaohsiung Port as my case of study. Employing Inter-Organizational system structure analysis, I will first analyze the business challenges Kaohsiung faces as well as providepossible response strategies. Through methods of management and support of information technology, how can we create a more competitive organization? Secondly, through interviewing different shipping companies, I will know to what degree the management and information exchange has been electronified.I propose that a new information platform must be built up to fasten operation and improve ports logistic issues. In this thesis, I will show that single service platform of ports operation, electronification of management and the establishment of new e-business model of operation can help to make ports operation more efficient and therefore enhance capacity for competition. Based on this model of management, I will conclude that this strategy can also be applied to ports with similar structure.

This study examined the dynamics of an inter-organizational national disaster management organization (NDO) in the Caribbean. It sought to provide a better understanding of network structure, functions, and member relations, which provided a foundation for understanding member roles and leadership styles. This dissertation's primary research question was: How do members participate in the national disaster management network in the Caribbean? In personal interviews, network members identified the NDO as a semi-open network system, incorporating both hierarchical and collaborative characteristics. This analysis argued the network constitutes a dynamic system that shifts its governance structure to adapt to circumstances confronted during the disaster management cycle. This study also found network structure affects member positions and those views reciprocally affect how the NDO is organized. One participant clearly claimed a central network position and served as "network broker," while several other members formed two high density groups within the NDO. Network members played a range of formal and informal roles in the collaboration, including coach and coordinator. The central NDO member played several primary roles: fundraiser, change agent, manager, and informer. This analysis also suggested leadership styles shaped the network's hybrid governance structure: some members employed a directive or delegative style, while others relied upon a participatory approach. This mix of styles underscored the importance of shared leadership in a disaster context. The Saint Lucia government has endeavored to engage citizens in disaster management planning through an extensive NDO committee structure. This study yielded insights into that decentralized decision-making structure and process. The NDO, as a public policy network, has served as a "new governance" form of government action. At the national level, non-governmental organizations have used the structure to work to frame disaster management issues, while citizens active at the grassroots levels have participated in the nation's disaster preparedness and response planning processes. This new governance mechanism may be deemed participatory but not yet representative democracy. Overall, however, Saint Lucia's networked and engaged approach to disaster response and mitigation has encouraged deeper mutual awareness of shared challenges among government units, participating third sector organizations, for-profit entities, and the nation's citizens. / Ph. D.

Inter-organizational projects have become common forms of organizing in various industries such as construction, advertising, music, film making etc. The unique structural nature of Inter-organizational projects coupled with the fact that they carried out through the participation of multiple organizations, raises issues of coordination. Particularly when it comes to creative industries, coordination is challenged by demand and transactional uncertainties. In order to understand how inter-organizational projects achieve coordination in such situations, it is important to study their interior processes putting in consideration their environmental context.  The aim of this research is to study how network embeddedness enhances coordination in inter-organizational projects within creative industries. Inter-organizational projects: are projects that are carried out through the collaboration of multiple legally independent organizations Inter-organizational networks: refer to sets of long-term ties among independent organizations that are engaged in continuous exchange relations. Embeddedness: refers to the continuous interaction of individuals, organizations, projects etc. with their environmental context. Macrocultures: refer to the shared beliefs, norms values rules and practices with in inter- organizational networks that guide members on their actions. A qualitative approach using a multiple comparative case study was conducted. Accordingly four projects chosen from creative industries were studied using both primary and secondary data. Macrocultures that are embedded inter-organizational networks facilitate coordination within inter-organizational projects. Further projects that differ in their constituents task nature, time duration and team composition relied on different types of embeddedness for coordination.

Improving product development is a complex task for many companies. One challenge is to avoid over-engineering and only include the functionality that customers are willing to pay for. Another challenge is to reduce costs in close co-operation with suppliers. This is a complex task because suppliers often have their own goals and are rarely located at the same physical place. Handling these two challenges is the domain of target costing. Emerging first from Japanese companies such as Toyota, Nissan and Olympus, target costing has become a critical element in achieving long-term profitability. Previous research on target costing has been paradoxical because even though it deals with product development, it has not incorporated the complexity of the product development process. More specifically, current models of target costing assume that the product development process can largely be planned and controlled by a single company. For complex multi-technology products, such as airplanes and industrial robots, this is far from true. By drawing on product development theories, and conducting an in-depth case study at ABB Robotics, this thesis explores target costing in the development of complex multi-technology products. The result is a framework that identifies challenges and problems in target costing processes, but also shows that target costing relies on both planning and improvisation to cope with tensions and contradictions in close customer and supplier relationships. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, 2011

Scholarly interest in the informal economy has burgeoned in recent years, in anticipation of expanding our knowledge beyond the easily observable organizational life that takes place within the formal economic system. In line with this research endeavour, the present work represents a focused study of what I have labelled 'disguised relationships'. These ties result in repeated transactions between informal economy enterprises, which fail to comply with certain elements of the laws and regulations applying to their operations, and formal firms, which operate within the state-sanctioned formal economy. Drawing on an abductive reasoning process and grounded theory approach, I conduct a case study that captures the interactions between two leading cosmetics firms (i.e. formal firms) and ten daigou enterprises (i.e. informal enterprises) between 2013 and 2017. The examination of multiple data sources (i.e. interviews, news articles and social media observations) suggests that the organizational landscape under study differs considerably from the one in which formal firms are portrayed as rational choosers of best-performing partners or exploiters of subordinate actors within the informal economy. Rather, disguised relationships emerge in a unilateral and disguised fashion following the lead of informal enterprises, and formal firms unintentionally engage in the unexpected ties. Furthermore, disguised relationships create the image of dynamism replete with, metaphorically speaking, give-take, push-pull and chase-evade. More specifically, the emergent model illustrates the interactive practices through four mechanisms: (a) informal enterprises gaining social acceptability from certain society groups and acquiring the necessary resources from the members of identity-based groups; (b) drawing on this momentum, informal enterprises forming unilateral ties with formal firms in a disguised manner; (c) formal firms counteracting the unexpected ties, with temporary compromising on the counteracting efforts; and (d) informal enterprises avoiding the combatting efforts of formal firms through socially learnt tactics and leveraging network brokers (i.e. actors sharing the same ethnic/cultural backgrounds with informal enterprises while at the same time working for formal firms). This thesis makes contributions to the literature on both interorganizational relationships and the informal economy by overcoming the perennial problem of 'dualism' that is prevalent in the extant work. First, while the subject-object dualism bestows upon formal firms a heroic status such that they are conceptualized as rational actors forming interorganizational relationships, always on the basis of plans and goals, the current work argues that formal firms may participate in unexpected, yet lasting, ties, which requires ongoing situational responsiveness. Second, the structure-agency dualism projects the static image in which formal firms deliberately establish exploitative ties with structurally isolated informal enterprises, whereas the present study suggests that informal enterprises may exercise agency to proactively establish or dissolve connections with formal firms and to strengthen or weaken the relationships at their discretion. As such, dynamism figures prominently in the interorganizational relationships between formal firms and informal enterprises.

E-government initiatives have large potentials in developing better services for citizens and a potential to transform government structures. However e-government initiatives face a number of challenges of complexity and risk - it is not an easy matter to realize its potentials. A key research issue for the e-government field, as well as the information systems field in general, is to understand why some projects progress to success while others end in failure. The main objective in this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the progress and the success vs. failure in e-government development based on case studies of two inter-organizational e-service projects. The analysis in the paper is made from a) an e-government systems development life cycle perspective and b) a challenge and success factors perspective. The main result in this paper is that crucial success factors of an inter-organizational e-government project include project manager skills and position in the agency organization as well as when and how systems maintenance issues are introduced in the project. Criticism is presented concerning the life cycle model used in the analysis regarding this last matter.

The current study explored the collaborative processes present in a collaboration between an urban university in the Southeast United States, a state-funded educational support agency, and several urban and suburban school districts served by the state agency. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the collaboration and relevant practices, perceptions were obtained from university, community agency, and K-12 school representatives through 12 individual and 2 group interviews. Data were collected and analyzed using Moustakas’s (1994) transcendental phenomenology methodology. Findings indicated that participants perceived collaborative processes in the areas of collaborative structure, communication practices, characteristics of collaborators and organizations, and group dynamics. Participants also described outcomes of the collaboration in the areas of general impact on professional learning participants, learning, evolution of behaviors and beliefs, relationship development, emotional impact, sustainability, and generalizability. Comparison of the current results to Hord’s (1986) model of inter-organizational collaboration and the literature on inter-organizational collaboration revealed strong support for a synthesis model of inter-organizational collaboration. Furthermore, the findings suggest implications for practice in the areas of goal alignment, communication, perceptions of collaborative involvement, system entry and assimilation, and personal characteristics.