Towards a more dynamic view of inter-organizational networks: Antecedents and future directions

1. Athens University of Economics and Business Department of Management Science and Technology Towards a more dynamic view of inter-organizational networks: Antecedents and future directions Elpida Prasopoulou PhD Supervisor: Dr Nancy Pouloudi

2. Introduction • In recent years, there has been a remarkable growth in various forms of co-operation among organizations in various industries (Ebers, 1999) • This tendency towards collaboration in the business world was been supplemented by the upsurge of interest in the role of networks in the academia (Powell & Smith-Doerr, 1995) • The concept of network is in vogue, but its popularity is accompanied by a general vagueness about exactly what the idea entails Elpida Prasopoulou

3. The concept of “network” • Thus far the concept of network has been used to, explicitly or implicitly, describe: • social networks (Burt, 1992) • governance mechanisms (Powell, 1990) • new organizational forms (Miles & Snow, 1986) • Moreover, the concept of network has been examined through the lenses of various theoretical perspectives: • economic sociology (Granovetter, 1985) • strategic management (Gulati, 1998) • organization theory (Ebers, 1999) • information systems (DeSanctis & Fulk, 1999) Elpida Prasopoulou

4. What is a network? • The most general use of the term “network” is the structure of ties among the actors in a social system (Nohria & Eccles, 1996) • These actors may be: roles, individual persons, organizations, industries, nation states • Their ties may be based on: conversation, affection, friendship, kinship, authority, economic exchange, information exchange or anything else that forms the basis of a relation • In this broad sense the structure of any social organization can be thought of as a network Elpida Prasopoulou

5. Inter-organizational networks • In my research, I focus on the governance mechanisms that regulate interaction among organizations • Thus, the unit of analysis is the inter-organizational network • An inter-organizational network is a particular form of organizing or governing recurring exchange relationships among a limited number of organizations that retain residual control of their individual resources yet periodically jointly decide over their use (Ebers, 1999) Elpida Prasopoulou

6. Research work on inter-organizational networks • The main body of research in inter-organizational networks has examined: • when, where, why and how organizations engage in inter-organizational networking (Embers, 1999; Alter & Hage, 1993) • with whom firms built networks (Gulati & Garguilo, 1999) • However, all these studies are static and focus primarily on the initial stages of inter-organizational network formation • Studies that adopt a more dynamic perspective on inter-organizational networks are scarce: • Mainly Ring & Van de Ven (1992), Larson (1992) and Hamel (1991) provided models investigating the dynamic processes that underlie the evolution of this form of organizing • However, the majority of these articles are conceptual and do not provide empirical grounding Elpida Prasopoulou

7. Inter-organizational network formation • If we focus in the selection of partners, we can see that current literature has identified two major trends: • The deployment of social networks as a reservoir for potential partners in order to decrease uncertainty associated with the choice of partners (Gulati & Garguilo, 1999) • The role of status similarity as a incentive to collaborate (Podolny, 1994) • Real life examples show that these two parameters do not guarantee the successful operation of an inter-organizational network • Instead, the initiators of an inter-organizational network must create a web of allies that will support the initiative inside each participating organization Elpida Prasopoulou

8. Research question • How do inter-organizational networks evolve? • We need a theoretical approach that: • provides the basis for a more dynamic perspective of the networking phenomenon • accounts for the difficulties of the initiating actors Elpida Prasopoulou

9. Actor-network theory and inter-organizational networks • Actor-network theory and more specifically the four moments of translation (problematization, interessement, enrollment, mobilization; Callon, 1986) provide a conceptual vehicle to describe the stages of inter-organizational network formation • Through the four moments of translation the various alliances that the network initiators need to go through in order to enroll all the necessary actors are highlighted • All the relevant actors are acknowledged whether they participate in the final network or not • ANT as a perspective is more dynamic and takes into account the dimension of time in the analysis Elpida Prasopoulou

10. Research design • Interpretivist research approach • Longitudinal case study supported by a synthesis of relevant literature Tools & methods • Qualitative data collection methods (semi-structured interviews, documentation) • participant observation Elpida Prasopoulou

11. Empirical context: Global eManagement MBA • GeM is an inter-organizational network among 10 renowned business schools, namely AUEB, CBS, RSM, NHH, Reykjavik, GSU, ESADE, EGADE, Denver, Cologne • The purpose of this arrangement is to offer an executive program in eManagement • Additionally, the program offers: • International seminars • Global team exercises • Internet-based courses • Why GeM? It provides a fertile ground for study • inter-organizational • multi-national • polycentric character Elpida Prasopoulou

12. Preliminary findings • ANT indicates that GeM was not a simple inter-organizational initiative • GeM should be interpreted as an organizational change project which demanded changes in the operation of the participating universities and the teaching and learning practices of the participating actors • The reason why GeM was a loosely coupled network where the universities operated semi-autonomously can be traced to the limited support that some universities provided • During the fall of demand in e-business courses there was not a coherent network of actors to support and promote GeM • The perceptions and actions of actors that were not directly involved (deans, rectors) in the alliance influenced the course of GeM Elpida Prasopoulou

13. Contribution • A deeper understanding of the dynamic processes underlying inter-organizational networks • Gain theoretical insights from ANT that can benefit strategic management literature • Understanding of academic networks (including EU projects) Elpida Prasopoulou

14. Research work • First classification of literature, identification of open issues • Empirical work: first round of interviews, participant observation during 3rd International Seminar of Ring III • Interpretation of inter-organizational network formation using actor-network theory • Presentation of my work in IFIP Joint 8.2 + 9.4 Conference, IS Perspectives and Challenges in the Context of Globalization, 15-17 June 2003, Athens, Greece • There is a need for: • a second round of interviews • further interpretation of the data collected so far Elpida Prasopoulou