Enhancing Collaboration by Highlighting the Benefits of IInterorganizational Network Participation
Kontkanen, Terhi (2021)
2021
Tietojohtamisen DI-ohjelma - Master's Programme in Information and Knowledge Management
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2021-06-10
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202106015612
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202106015612
Tiivistelmä
Through collaboration and knowledge sharing, network members seek benefits that they would not get through traditional transactional conduct. Interorganizational collaborations are a means to access resources that other organisations own. These resources can be vital for value creation and for the organisation to sustain its operations. Other than resources, collaborations are a way to create collaborative advantage, something that organisations cannot achieve independently.
This research was done in collaboration with ACTRIS, a pan-European research infrastructure built and developed by the European atmospheric science community research performing organisations from many different countries.
The first research question was what kind of benefits public sector organisations aim to gain from participating in an interorganizational network? Based on focus group discussions, the essential advantage that the network members sought to gain from the network was to get support in achieving their own goal of their organisation. The second research question was what kind of challenges public sector organisations face in gaining benefits from participating in an interorganizational network? The network members had mostly difficulties in exerting power and influencing in the network.
The focus group discussions led to the wonder why exerting power and influence was so tricky. First, the interviewed participants all agreed that exerting power was not essential in networking. However, influencing was a vital activity in getting the most from the network. The significant challenges in influencing the network were related to the individuals who represented the organ isation in the network, the size of the network, the legacy that different network members had built throughout the time that the network had existed, the country and the culture were the organisa tion is based on and finally how developed infrastructure and resources the organisation has. Contrary to the belief that networks are flexible arrangements, it seems that they can become relatively stable coordinated systems throughout time.
This research was done in collaboration with ACTRIS, a pan-European research infrastructure built and developed by the European atmospheric science community research performing organisations from many different countries.
The first research question was what kind of benefits public sector organisations aim to gain from participating in an interorganizational network? Based on focus group discussions, the essential advantage that the network members sought to gain from the network was to get support in achieving their own goal of their organisation. The second research question was what kind of challenges public sector organisations face in gaining benefits from participating in an interorganizational network? The network members had mostly difficulties in exerting power and influencing in the network.
The focus group discussions led to the wonder why exerting power and influence was so tricky. First, the interviewed participants all agreed that exerting power was not essential in networking. However, influencing was a vital activity in getting the most from the network. The significant challenges in influencing the network were related to the individuals who represented the organ isation in the network, the size of the network, the legacy that different network members had built throughout the time that the network had existed, the country and the culture were the organisa tion is based on and finally how developed infrastructure and resources the organisation has. Contrary to the belief that networks are flexible arrangements, it seems that they can become relatively stable coordinated systems throughout time.