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Article
Publication date: 5 October 2020

Chen Qian, Stefan Seuring, Ralf Wagner and Paul A. Dion

This paper aims to examine how trust and communication at the personal level relationships conform to trust and communication at the organizational level relationships and which…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how trust and communication at the personal level relationships conform to trust and communication at the organizational level relationships and which role do the two different level relationships play in influencing firms’ commitment, performance and propensity to stay in long-term relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

A face-to-face questionnaire study was conducted using a sample of 209 in Mainland China companies, which were surveyed in nine exhibitions. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results support the bottom-up effect of interpersonal trust and communication on inter-organizational trust and communication. Interorganizational trust has a more powerful total effect on firm commitment. Interpersonal communication has a more powerful total effect on inter-organizational trust and communication and firms’ operational performance. Interpersonal communication, inter-organizational trust and communication have comparably high impacts on firms’ propensity to stay in long-term relationships.

Research limitations/implications

This paper selects Mainland China as the research context and targets a single boundary spanner in each respondent firm to evaluate both the interpersonal and inter-organizational relationships. A cross-sectional approach was used.

Practical implications

This paper suggests that business people should pay attention to the role of human factors in a firm’s relational exchanges with SC partners and effectively use the positive effects of these factors to create relationship-building benefits.

Originality/value

This paper conducts cross-level research, which has been called for in recently published inter-organizational literature. It develops and provides empirical evidence for a bottom-up model from interpersonal relationships to inter-organizational relationships and identifies their impacts on organizational outcomes simultaneously.

Details

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-8546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 April 2019

Jim Rooney and Yiyuan Cao

Firms in the early stage of their organisational lifecycle (ESFs) are subject to concerns founded on a requirement for strategic flexibility, prompting engagement in…

Abstract

Purpose

Firms in the early stage of their organisational lifecycle (ESFs) are subject to concerns founded on a requirement for strategic flexibility, prompting engagement in inter-organisational relationships such as outsourcing. However, studies of the management control dynamics of these relationships are rare. This paper aims to respond by empirically examining the influence of ESF managers on the ongoing management control of such relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

A single outsourcing case study is utilised to provide evidence in examining a multi-theoretical framework that adopts a complex adaptive system (CAS) perspective as a qualitative analytical framework, along with the existing accounting theory on control adoption.

Findings

Focused on management concerns with tensions between inter-organisational control and strategic flexibility, this paper identifies reasons for the adoption of management controls by an ESF. The inter-organisational system explored in this paper emphasises the importance of adopting a holistic epistemology in understanding changes in control adoption.

Research limitations/implications

This paper extends current theoretical perspectives on control adoption to consider the inter-organisational control concerns of ESF managers.

Practical implications

The insights identified in this paper provide a systemic framework to identify potential organisational and environmental influences on control problems, emphasising environmental co-evolution rather than achievement of ideal equilibrium states.

Originality/value

The intended contribution is to extend the management control literature to consider the effect of organisational lifecycle on the adoption of new inter-organisational management controls in the wake of ongoing trade-off between competing inter-organisational requirements.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 27 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2017

Nan Hu, Zhi Chen, Jibao Gu, Shenglan Huang and Hefu Liu

This paper aims to examine the effects of task and relationship conflicts on team creativity, and the moderating role of shared leadership in inter-organizational teams. An…

6453

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the effects of task and relationship conflicts on team creativity, and the moderating role of shared leadership in inter-organizational teams. An inter-organizational team normally comprises employees from collaborated organizations brought together to conduct an initiative, such as product development. Practitioners and researchers have witnessed the prevalence of conflict in inter-organizational teams. Despite significant scholarly investigation into the importance of conflict in creativity, a deep theoretical understanding of conflict framework remains elusive.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey was conducted in China to collect data. Consequently, 54 teams, which comprised 54 team managers and 276 team members, were deemed useful for the study.

Findings

By testing our hypotheses on 54 inter-organizational teams, we found that relationship conflict has a negative relationship with team creativity, whereas task conflict has an inverted U-shaped (curvilinear) relationship with team creativity. Furthermore, when shared leadership is stronger, the negative relationship with team creativity is weaker for relationship conflict, whereas the inverted U-shaped relationship with team creativity is stronger for task conflict.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation is cross-sectional, which cannot establish causality in relationships. Despite this potential weakness, the present research provides insights into conflict, leadership and inter-organizational collaboration literature.

Practical implications

The findings of this study offer some guidance on how managers can intervene in the conflict situations of inter-organizational teams.

Social implications

Managers are struggling to identify ways to effectively manage team conflict when a team of diverse individuals across organizational boundaries are brought together to solve a problem. The findings of this study offer some guidance on how managers can intervene in the conflict situations of inter-organizational teams.

Originality/value

This paper provides understandings about how relationship and task conflicts affect team creativity in inter-organizational teams.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 July 2018

Rocco Palumbo and Rosalba Manna

This paper aims at investigating the link between inter-organizational relationships and innovation, discussing whether the probability to detect a greater innovation propensity…

Abstract

Purposes

This paper aims at investigating the link between inter-organizational relationships and innovation, discussing whether the probability to detect a greater innovation propensity of organizations increases with or without collaborative partnerships.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on secondary data provided by the Italian Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) about a representative sample of 8,967 Italian firms, three multinomial logit models and four logit models have been estimated, in an attempt to examine the effects of inter-organizational relationships on different types of organizational innovation.

Findings

A positive and statistically significant relationship between inter-organizational relationships and organizational innovation emerged from all the models which were arranged for the purpose of this study. Several categories of partners, including suppliers, universities and firms belonging to the same holding group, were found to be more effective in fostering the probability of organizational innovation. Interestingly, geographical proximity did not seem to influence the organizational propensity to innovate.

Practice implications

Even though further developments are needed to disentangle the complex link between inter-organizational relationships and organizational innovation, the former are likely to positively affect the innovation ability of organizations. From this point of view, it could be argued that partners perform as catalysts, which boost the knowledge creation process underlying the emergence of organizational innovation.

Originality/value

This is one of the first attempts to exploit the potential of multinomial logit models and logit models to investigate the effects of inter-organizational relationships on the propensity of organizations to innovate.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 March 2010

Morten Jakobsen

The literature on managing inter‐organisational relationships typically suggests managing these relationships based on the formalised exchange of information across the…

1644

Abstract

Purpose

The literature on managing inter‐organisational relationships typically suggests managing these relationships based on the formalised exchange of information across the organisational boundary with due respect to trust build‐up through successive interactions. The purpose of this paper is to argue that a focus on trust reduces the flexibility and accessibility of resources and hence ruins the advantages of inter‐organisational relationships. The paper focuses on power as a means for absorbing uncertainty when managing inter‐organisational relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on findings from a case study of inter‐organisational relationships. Governmentality is used as a framework for analysing the practise of managing inter‐organisational relationships.

Findings

A number of representations are employed along the boundary between the case study parties and thereby the boundary is emphasised. These representations are used to set the discourse for negotiating the terms of the cooperation. During negotiations a common understanding of cooperation is constructed and thereby fine‐grained information is assembled. In this specific case, the contract plays a central role as a representation of the project in focus. In the construction of the price for the product, open book and benchmark data are used. Information does not cross‐organisational boundaries at face value. Information is applied to the representations and brought into play during negotiations. Thereby managing and management accounting become significant components of the boundary between the parties.

Originality/value

The paper shows that power, as a means for absorbing uncertainty in inter‐organisational relationships, can solve the dilemmas regarding flexibility and access to resources that trust can cause.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2017

Vasco Eiriz, Miguel Gonçalves and João S. Areias

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the interaction process between organizations of a knowledge network as a means to promote learning. In particular, the authors aim to…

1179

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the interaction process between organizations of a knowledge network as a means to promote learning. In particular, the authors aim to answer the following research questions: how do dyadic and network relationships contribute to inter-organizational creation and transfer of knowledge? More specifically, which joint activities between organizations facilitate inter-organizational learning within a knowledge network? That is, the authors are interested in the relationship processes for inter-organisational learning, aiming to identify and understand the joint activities through which organizations within an institutional network generate and transfer knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

Aiming at studying how six institutional actors generate and transfer knowledge, the existing dyadic relationships between a focal actor (a technological center of the textile and clothing industry – CITEVE) and each one of the other five institutional actors were studied. In the study of this knowledge network the authors analyzed several documental sources and carried out 19 interviews.

Findings

This study shows how dyadic and network relationships contribute to inter-organisational creation and transfer of knowledge. It assesses several joint activities through which organizations in the studied network learn with each other and compares the five dyadic relationships in terms of their distinctive features. Through the cooperative effort based on joint activities between actors, the studied network generates complementary and multidisciplinary knowledge aiming to promote network learning of the studied organizations. Management implications and suggestions for further research on network learning are discussed.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the literature on network learning and management by empirically illustrating how a network of organizations in a given industry contributes to knowledge generation. It is an original contribution because, first, it allows a better understanding of how organizations of a knowledge network interact and contribute for network learning. In particular, the paper identifies a large number of joint activities for inter-organizational learning in the context of a traditional industry. Second, the research shows empirically how such interaction and learning occur in practice within a network context that comprises only institutional actors.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 June 2012

Emanuela Delbufalo

This study's purpose is to improve the understanding of inter‐organizational trust outcomes in supply chain relationships. It focuses on synthesizing the empirical research…

5443

Abstract

Purpose

This study's purpose is to improve the understanding of inter‐organizational trust outcomes in supply chain relationships. It focuses on synthesizing the empirical research published from 1990 to May 2010 in order to establish both what we know and do not know about this topic, thereby identifying areas for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology used is the systematic literature review. It differs from traditional narrative reviews by being more systematic and explicit in the selection of the studies and employing rigorous and reproducible evaluation methods. In total 56 were selected from three databases: Business Source Premier; ABI/Informs; Ingenta. A meta‐analysis was conducted to examine the correlated outcomes of inter‐organizational trust in supply chain relationships. A total of 33 outcome variables and 96 independent samples with an overall sample size of 69,452 were included in the meta‐analytic process, providing insights for dissemination and discussion.

Findings

Three major themes emerge from the analysis: direct, indirect and relational outcomes. The review identifies a number of theoretical opportunities for future investigation as well as methodological challenges.

Research limitations/implications

Inherent limitations could appear with regard to the methodological approaches used. The main research challenges refer to the: conceptualization of inter‐organizational trust; definition of supply chain relationship typologies; and availability of primary data for the meta‐analytic synthesis.

Originality/value

This is the first study employing a combination of systematic literature review and meta‐analytic methodologies to explore the supply chain literature on inter‐organizational trust outcomes. The findings are of value to academics and practitioners alike.

Details

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 17 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-8546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 May 2022

Per Christian Ahlgren and Johnny Lind

The purpose of this paper is to review the Nordic research on accounting in inter-organizational relationships (IORs) and relates the Nordic contributions to the international…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the Nordic research on accounting in inter-organizational relationships (IORs) and relates the Nordic contributions to the international literature. Additionally, it examines alternative approaches to the understanding of accounting in IORs and proposes some directions for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

Thirty-one papers were identified and assessed in terms of their topic, inter-organizational setting, theoretical approach, research methods and results. This study followed a six-step process from formulating objectives, through establishing inclusion and exclusion criteria, to paper selection and mutual assessments.

Findings

The Nordic literature presents a distinct approach to the understanding of accounting in IORs. The Nordic studies are characterized by theoretical pluralism, in-depth case studies and an interest towards micro-processes in a variety of inter-organizational settings and from the point of view of multiple parties.

Originality/value

The authors propose two specific areas of research: the interconnections between accounting measures, monetary flows and value creation as well as the role of accounting in creating stability and instability in IORs. These areas of research emphasize a stronger engagement with the core issues of managing appropriation and cooperation concerns and provide an outlook for novel insights into classical issues and increased integration within the field.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 19 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 January 2022

Cong Liu, Jiming Cao, Guangdong Wu, Xianbo Zhao and Jian Zuo

This study aims to explore the relationship between network position, various types of inter-organizational conflicts and project performance in the context of megaprojects.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the relationship between network position, various types of inter-organizational conflicts and project performance in the context of megaprojects.

Design/methodology/approach

Centrality and structural holes were used to represent network position. A theoretical model was developed, and a structured questionnaire survey was conducted with construction professionals involved in megaprojects. A total of 291 valid responses were obtained, which were analyzed via structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results showed that centrality negatively impacts project performance, while structural holes do not significantly impact project performance. Centrality negatively affects task conflicts, but positively affects process conflicts and relationship conflicts. Structural holes positively impact task conflicts, but negatively impact both process conflicts and relationship conflicts. Task conflict and relationship conflict exert constructive and destructive effects on project performance, respectively, while process conflict does not significantly impact project performance. Task conflict and relationship conflict play mediating roles. Task conflict weakens while relationship conflict strengthens the relationship between centrality and project performance. Task conflict strengthens while relationship conflict weakens the relationship between structure hole and project performance.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides a reference for the implementation of network governance, inter-organizational conflict management and project performance management in megaprojects. However, the impact of dynamic changes of inter-organizational conflicts and network position on project performance has not been discussed in the context of megaprojects. Future research may explore the impact of dynamic changes of conflicts and network position on project implementation.

Originality/value

This study increases the current understanding of the impact of network position on project performance. Moreover, a new direction for network governance in the context of megaprojects is provided. This study also verified both the constructive and destructive effects of conflicts and the mediating role they play, thus supplementing the literature on inter-organizational conflict management in the construction field.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 33 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 January 2021

C.M. Sashi

Technological innovations that resulted in the emergence and widespread adoption of digital communication in recent years have led to a surge of academic and practitioner interest…

3430

Abstract

Purpose

Technological innovations that resulted in the emergence and widespread adoption of digital communication in recent years have led to a surge of academic and practitioner interest in its implications for the co-creation of value and customer engagement. However, in comparison to the attention given to the study of customer engagement in consumer markets, few studies have examined its key role in business markets. This paper aims to examine the impact of digital communication on value co-creation and customer engagement in inter-organizational relationships in business networks.

Design/methodology/approach

Co-creation of value and customer engagement in business networks occurs among interconnected organizations that are partners in intermediate transactions. The paper develops a matrix of inter-organizational engagement among partners in business networks and propositions linking digital communication to value co-creation and inter-organizational engagement.

Findings

The relationships among network organizations may be characterized by the extent of relational exchange and inter-organizational bonds among them. Four types of inter-organizational engagement emerge: transactional partners, loyal partners, trusted partners and engaged partners. The partners co-create value to better satisfy customers.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is an initial attempt to develop a conceptual understanding of customer engagement in business markets and formulate propositions that can be further investigated. Networks of partner organizations co-create value, altering their input and output markets, value addition and products, permitting greater flexibility and customization in satisfying the needs of customers.

Practical implications

The ability afforded by digital communication for real-time interactive communication enables individuals from multiple departments and hierarchical positions within multiple organizations dispersed across geographic locations and industries to maintain contact, quickly and easily communicate task information, build trust and commitment in long-term relationships with network partners and provide superior customer value.

Originality/value

The paper represents a unique attempt to understand the nature of customer engagement in business markets. It discusses how digital communication alters market transactions among partner organizations in a network by facilitating changes in their make/buy decisions. It develops a matrix of inter-organizational engagement in business networks and propositions that improve understanding of the customer engagement concept and provide the foundation for strategies to better satisfy customers.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 55 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

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