The Formation of
Inter-Organizational Networks
Edited by Mark Ebers,
Professor of Business Administration, Management, and Organization, Augsburg University
Description
'The book is admitted to
be more research orientated than practice orientated. Nevertheless, the papers do provide
important insights that will reward practical managers.' -Cooper H. Langford,
Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, Vol. 13, No.1, 2001
'The prominence given to
analysis of the role of trust is most appropriate and the effort made to enrich the
literature of this subject with a deconstruction of the concept is quite valuable.'
-Cooper H. Langford, Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, Vol. 13, No.1, 2001
'it provides a
comprehensive review of the research directions that have influenced attitutes toward the
phenomena of inter-organizational network formation among firms' -Cooper H. Langford,
Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, Vol. 13, No.1, 2001
'a major study ... draws
on a remarkable range of primary an secondary material and is highly readable ... The
breadth o the book, the issues it tackles and its findings make it an outstanding piece of
research that will be widely read and appreciated.' - Mark Thatcher, West European
Politics, Vol.23, No. 4, Oct.2000.
In recent years, the
networked firm has been widely perceived by both managers and management scholars as a
promising organizational form. This book analyses when, why, and how firms engage in
different forms of inter-organizational networking, such as strategic alliances, joint
ventures, and long-term accords for collaboration among competitors as well as with
suppliers and customers. The contributors outline how firm strategies, catalysts and trust
between actors shape the emergence and the forms of inter-organizational collaboration.
Readership: Academics and postgraduate students of organizational theory and behaviour,
business strategy, economics, sociology, and marketing.
Contents/contributors
Mark Ebers: Preface
I. Introduction
1 Mark Ebers: The
Inter-organizational Network as a Distinct Organizational Form
II. Resource Flows: Role of
Activity Links
2 Anna Dubois and Hakan
Hakansson: Relationships as Activity Links
3 Geoff Easton and Luis
Araujo: Interfirm Responses to Heterogeneity of Demand over Time
4 Alessandro Lomi and
Alessandro Grandi: The Network Structure of Interfirm Relationships in the Southern
Italian Mechanical Industry
III. Mutual Expectations: The
Role of Trust
5 Peter Smith Ring: Processes
Facilitating Reliance on Trust in Inter-organizational Networks
6 Paul de Laat: R & D
Alliances: Ensuring Trust by Mutual Commitments
7 Mark Casson and Howard Cox:
An Economic Model of Inter-firm Networks
IV. Information Flows: The
Role of the Catalysts
8 Andrea Lipparini and
Maurizio Sobrero: Co-ordinating Multi-firm Innovative Processes: Entrepreneur as Catalyst
in Small-firm Networks
9 Suzanne Lütz: Learning
through Intermediaries: The Case of Interfirm Research Collaborations
10 Christopher P. Holland and
Geoff Lockett: Mixed Mode Operation of Electronic Markets and Hierarchies
V. Conclusion
11 Mark Ebers and Anna
Grandori: The Formation of Inter-organizational Networks: Implications for Theory and
Practice
292 pages